The Be5K run strides towards suicide prevention and mental health awareness by raising money for the Heather Fund. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
After a year without the Be5K on campus, the University of Rhode Island is once again hosting the annual run to benefit the Heather Fund.
The Be5K has become a prominent event each fall at URI, with over 100 participants taking part in it this year. Runners and walkers took to the course starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
According to Amy Albert, the community engagement coordinator at the Center for Career and Experiential Education (CCEE), the event raised over $2,000 for the Heather Fund. The Heather Fund is a suicide prevention fund that advocates for mental health awareness and is named after Heather Vennewald, a former URI student who was lost to suicide.
“It’s really nice to be back in person and to have people connecting together,” Albert said.
The CCEE, Counseling Center, Campus Recreation, Psychological Consultation Center, Health Services and URI Communications were all involved in putting this event together, according to Albert. She also said there were dozens of student volunteers helping register runners, take their run times and guide participants along the course.
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recently started a social media mental health initiative known as “The Us In Campus Project” at four major Rhode Island schools— URI, Rhode Island College, the Community College of Rhode Island and the New England Institute of Technology.
Kalah Kennebrew, Public Health Associate at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, set up a table on the Quad to promote the “Us in Campus Project,” encouraging students to participate in a survey to help.
“We’re just really trying to reinforce the idea of just checking in on one another and making sure students recognize the five signs of emotional distress in one another,” Kennebrew said. “We want to help create a culture of care among college students.”
She explained that students from the colleges taking part in the program are working with RIDOH to create short videos advocating for mental health awareness and sharing their own experiences.
URI’s Campus Recreation was present on the Quad as well, promoting their fitness programs with a large banner that was filled with physical activities to improve mental health.
“I’m very, very excited, especially in our department all of our stuff is back in person,” Ilayna Siebold, a certified health coach at Campus Recreation, said. “I’m glad students want to be back doing stuff with us.”
Siebold explained that the Be5K was a great way to continue the work done at the Fresh Check day on Oct. 13, and continue to advocate for mental health. Campus Recreation has taken steps to improve mental health awareness in the URI community by focusing on mindfulness and well-being, in conjunction with physical health, according to Siebold.
Dave Lavallee, the assistant director of external relations and communications at URI, took part in and helped to organize the event.
“It’s great to see the community come together again,” he said.
The Counseling Center also had a table set up at the event and provided methods for students to reach out if they need help, including services dealing with mental illness and race and gender issues.
“Today is all about how you can best love yourself,” Allison Hall, a clinical counselor from the Counseling Center running the booth, said.
The Be5K plans to return next year and to continue advocating for mental health awareness, according to Albert.
“The goal is just to continue to have conversations and open dialogue around mental health awareness and suicide prevention,” Albert said. “If one person today says, ‘You know what, I think I need to reach out for some additional support,’ then we were successful.”