University of Rhode Island Health Services and the Counseling Center held their Chalk the Quad event on Sept. 16, in support of suicide prevention and awareness.
The departments put together an event where students drew messages with sidewalk chalk to fill campus walkways with messages of hope, encouragement and mental health resources.
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another,” Catherine Ahern said, program manager for the Community First Responder Program at the URI College of Pharmacy.
Students played outdoor games such as cornhole and spikeball, and had the opportunity to interact with Winnie the therapy dog.
While the campus community can feel transient as students come and go, the event created a central space for connection, Ahern stated.
Students face many challenges during the fall semester, Dr. Michael T. Starkey said, assistant director of the URI Counseling Center and an associate professor of psychology.
“They are navigating so much during this time,” Starkey said. “From continued identity development, choosing a major, shifting friend groups, negotiating new routines, to the simple reminder that they are now ‘adulting.’ It’s common to feel anxious, homesick, lost, lonely and sad.”
Chalk the Quad showed that the entire URI community can come together to care for one another, according to Ahern.
“Even if not every student is here, we are all together and caring for each other in some way and thinking of each other,” Ahern said.
The start of the new semester comes with new living situations, new classes and heavy workloads for students after summer break.
“Any time of transition is exciting, but that excitement comes with a lot of challenges,” Ahern said.
The event allowed students to learn about the mental health resources available to them on campus, Starkey stated.
“Being able to learn about services on campus, but also talk to your fellow students about hard topics, is important,” Ahern said. “What could be something exciting? What are the opportunities and challenges that come with all that?”
The Counseling Center also hosts events surrounding mental health throughout the school year, Starkey noted.
“We engage in many outreach events,” Starkey said. “Mental health awareness, stress reduction, and prevention programming tied to stress, anxiety and coping skills. We also collaborate with campus partners for wellness fairs like FloURIsh Fest, which happened this week.”
It is important to normalize a supportive culture on a college campus, according to Starkey.
“These events basically say, ‘we talk about tough things because we are able to help you with tough things’,” Starkey said. “When students meet each other and professionals who assist them when they need it, it helps destigmatize mental health problems and help-seeking behavior.”
The most important thing for students to do while on campus is to ask for help when struggling with their mental health, according to Starkey.
“I want people to know you don’t have to feel your absolute worst to ask for help,” Starkey said. “It’s often very beneficial to come in before things get really bad. That said, if things are already overwhelming, we try to make the process of asking for help as smooth as possible.”
Students can visit or call the Counseling Center Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to get the support they need.
“Struggling is part of being human,” Starkey said. “No one is immune to the difficulties of existence, and these difficulties are often right in our face during transitions like coming to college.”
For more information about mental health resources at URI, visit the Counseling Center’s website.
