Students at Lincoln are often stressed during finals week because they have to take tests. Hot chocolate and delectable sweets made by Anna Catherine Sgroi and the Mental Health Awareness Club will help during these difficult times.
The Mental Health Awareness club, run by Sgroi and her co-presidents, focuses on destigmatizing mental health and making a safe space for discussion. They offer support to people going through difficult times and make sure that everyone feels welcome.
“There’s a lot of stigma around mental health and [our club’s] goal is to try and change that,” said Sgroi. “There’s been a lot of glamorization of [mental illness]… like it’s popular to have. We really want to try and change that.”
Sgroi’s club is not the only place to discuss mental health at school. Alex Park is one of the five counselors at Lincoln, and his job is to provide one-on-one support to students and connect them with resources. The counseling team, as well as the two social workers, Judy Marantz-Herzberg and Greg Sheldrake, are considered the front line of student mental health support.
“We do have a space where we can make referrals to a partner agency called Lifeworks,” said Park. “With that partnership, students can get connected with longer term support. If a student wanted a weekly or biweekly check in, a referral to Lifeworks is more along those lines.”
The Lincoln counseling website, https://lhspdxcounseling.weebly.com/, has a ton of resources for anyone who would need them. It can be found on the Lincoln website under counseling and mental health resources. Some of these resources include crisis lines, home resources and more.
Students interested in joining the Mental Health Awareness Club can go to room 433 on every other Monday during lunch. The counselors can be found in room 240 at the students services room.
