SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local university is bringing awareness to mental health and suicide prevention. Students attended the mental health fair to learn about the resources they can access should they need them.
"I know it's very hard for people our age, young adults, to come to find help, essentially, and we are connectors to mental health services," said Deana Nieves, a senior at Penn State Scranton.
Students at Penn State Scranton are stepping up to be of service to their peers. The Green Bandana Project has recently been added to the campus, and about 15 students are now trained to help others.
"We are given this green bandana, which is not our green bandana; it is given by the actual project. So, we hang it on our bag, and we can even have it on our clothes or hand somewhere, so that students know that we are someone they can talk to," Penn State Scranton sophomore Binni Patel told 28/22 News.
Members of the project are trained in QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer is a method for members to approach their peers who may be struggling.
"Some trainings that we did do too is to help make them as comfortable as possible, so try to relate more and make them feel like. 'Okay, I can talk and bring any issues to them.' Basically," Nieves explained.
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At the Mental Health Fair, students were able to meet members of the project as well as the other resources available to them. Those with bandanas find that it is helping them, too.
"It is making me more generous toward other students that I'm someone they can talk to. They're also making me feel that I am capable of helping others, and also, I think it is really important for me, myself, it adds to my personality, that I can be someone that can be part of removing a mental health stigma," Patel said.
While enjoying the fair, Nieves reflected on what seeking help has done for her.
"My freshman year, it was pretty rough. It was definitely hard mentally because I was coming from my city here to a small town in Pennsylvania. So, it definitely was a big transition for me, and that was when I started counseling," Nieves said.
Members are hoping the Green Bandana Project will grow in the future.
Penn State students are encouraged to wear their new t-shirts from the fair this Friday as the world recognizes Mental Health Day, and remember they are not alone on campus.
