By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

St. Joseph grads want to put positive spin on mental health

Apr 9, 2018 | 10:40 AM

Students at St. Joseph High School want to do away with the stigma surrounding mental health.
 
That’s why starting next Monday, the school’s first ever grad class is hosting a week chock-full of events for students to talk about how to better themselves mentally.
 
Monday is no cellphone day and kicks off a week of not only awareness, but also fundraising for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation.
 
Grad committee member Kaelynn Hadford says the mental health cause is close to a lot of students’ hearts.
 
“We just need to talk about it more. It’s not brought up enough or we always talk about the negatives,” Hadford says. “If we start talking about the positives of improving your mental health, maybe the stigma will go away.”
 
She adds that although the stigma may always exist in some form, it doesn’t mean they can’t do something about it in the here and now.
 
“It means the world to us because it is such a sad story,” Hadford says about keeping Lindsey’s spirit alive today.

“Talking about Lindsey is not the easiest thing to do, but she’s such a great example of how mental health can affect someone in such a negative way.”
 
On asking students to go cellphone-free for a day, Hadford points out, “It’s not an awful thing where we take away your phone and ruin your day, but we wanted to put a positive spin on it all.”

During an assembly Monday morning to preview the week of events, the grads also recognized those killed and survivors of the Humboldt bus crash which happened last Friday.