Tonight was University of Richmond & tomorrow will be William & Mary until we then head to the Midwest for University of Michigan & Indiana University & a number of others in Illinois.
These take a lot of meetings & a lot of sharing. Classes during the day, administrator meet-and-greets for dinners, & then the full presentations for 2 hours at night.
But what we’ve realized is, these students in these rooms, THEY are the key to carrying this message all over campus & even beyond.
At the end of each session, as depicted here – we’ve started to ask the room to take a #SameHere Selfie, share the picture with the hashtag, & show others out there that we ALL face challenges in life. Tactically, it’s a lot to coordinate, but it must be done.
The visual of the masses, with the #SameHere message helps show everyone who can’t be in these rooms, that we ALL are on the mental health continuum, & it’s not only “OK,” but a sign of strength to ask for help & even share your story. Thanks Richmond Spiders. Beautiful campus & such a collaborative group of administrators!
It’s tragically ironic that on World Mental Health Day we are living through a set of global events making our world anything but mentally healthy