Mental Health Awareness Month takes place in May. Mental health for some people can be a walk in the park, while for others, a constant daily struggle. According to the official website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, and less than half of them receive treatment, while 1 in 6 U.S youth experience a mental health condition each year and only half recieve treatment.

Mental health is an important topic for many students in our school. 

“Mental health, I think, is overlooked in education, but Battle makes it easy for me to talk to an adult about my problems,” said junior William Johanning. 

Mental Health, as Johanning said, was stigmatized in education in the past.  Although as time goes on, more awareness is being raised and mental health education becoming more accessible to people in our community. Mental health has become an increasingly important topic to educators at Battle, after many years of it being a controversial topic in schools and workplaces.

“For me, what mental health means to me, it’s become a big part of who I am as an educator,” said Battle’s EEE teacher, Matt Leuchtmann, “to share the stories and the struggles and the triumphs of people who have suffered from mental health issues, and to de-stigmatize mental health in education.”

Battle Volunteer Corps has held many fundraisers for suicide prevention, such as holding kickball tournaments each year to fundraise. Battle’s most recent fundraiser, the Out of The Darkness campus walk on April 8th put together by Battle Volunteer Corps, raised money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Battle raised $3,815 for suicide prevention education in schools and workplaces, and support groups for people who have lost someone to suicide. Other fundraisers Battle Corps has held include the annual kickball tournament to raise money for the Out of the Darkness community walk in October, held by AFSP. Battle became involved with AFSP after a former student passed away due to suicide in 2014. Battle’s involvement with AFSP is far from over, as another campus walk is already in the planning stages. The walk is set to happen in September.

This year for mental health month, guidance is holding a poster contest between advisory classes. Although not as much as they’d like due to May being taken over by dual credit and AP testing, along with senior activities, it is still something to bring awareness to mental health and educate our freshmen.