Students had the opportunity to connect with various mental health and well-being resources across campus through this year’s Mental Health Fair on Monday from noon to 2 p.m. in the Illini Union.
Attendees wandered the ballroom and visited the booths of over 20 organizations, such as the Counseling Center, McKinley Health Center, the ARC, the Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative and the Women’s Resource Center.
Alana Harris, associate director of assessment and student wellness at Campus Recreation and co-chair of the mental health fair, wanted students to be made aware of the many resources on campus to be able to ask for help when needed.
“I think oftentimes students don’t seek out specific mental health resources until they feel they’re in a stressful situation where they’re reaching out for a last-minute resource,” Harris said. “The Mental Health Fair is really a public health kind of initiative where we want to put the resources out in front of students before they even need them so that they are aware of them.”
The first Mental Health Fair took place in November 2022, after colleges and universities in Illinois received $19 million in funding with the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Appropriations Act that was passed in January 2022.
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The timing of last year’s Mental Health Fair in November and this year’s Mental Health Fair in October was influenced by the declining mental health some students face during the colder seasons, according to Harris.
“This is midterm time and it’s an especially challenging time for students — the stress of class, changes in the weather — all of these things make this time of year an especially vulnerable time for students,” Harris said. “We want to make sure students are connected with what they need before they’re in a situation where they’re urgently in need.”
At the fair, visitors engaged in different interactive activities and crafts, such as cookie decorating, miniature pumpkin decorating and coloring. The fair offered free food and drinks and attendees could enter raffles to win prizes, including tickets to football games, basketball tickets and movies at the Virginia Theatre.
Hunter Caslin, junior in ACES, attended the fair to learn more about mental health resources on campus.
“I was curious to see what it was about and all the different booths that would be here,” Caslin said. “It was pretty amazing, honestly. There was a lot going on and the prizes were good.”
Some registered student organizations were also present at the fair, including Positive Pre-Meds, an RSO that offers pre-medical and health students mental health support, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Illinois.
Chloe Hensler, junior in LAS and member of NAMI Illinois, volunteered to tell students about NAMI Illinois and its goals at the Mental Health Fair and to normalize the discussion of mental health.
“We basically do a lot of advocacy, education and outreach for mental health-related concerns,” Hensler said. “Our meetings can also be about talking about self-care and just connecting with one another and giving each other the safe space to talk and decompress outside of class. I personally wanted to volunteer at the fair because I think there just should be so much more normalization about mental health, talking about it and knowing there are resources for you.”
One of the main goals of the fair was to reduce the negative opinions people may have regarding mental health struggles and treatment. This way, students may feel comfortable with seeking mental health care for themselves, as well as offering support and recommending resources to others.
“Mental health is something we want to celebrate,” Harris said. “We want to reduce that stigma, have some fun, make sure that students feel like they’re connected to one another and our community of care and that they’re able to also recognize themselves as resources to their peers.”
