Bold Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

I believe that a practical solution for helping people who struggle with mental health is to include it more often in everyday places. More often than not, I witness mental health counselors, grievance counselors, and offices for those with disabilities treated the same way. They are put off to the side and isolated in a way that makes people believe that something is wrong with them if they seek that help. Though it takes certified people to help with certain situations, I don’t think this should always be the case. I think back to when I was in high school and I could go to a counselor for anything. Schedules, scholarships, feelings, and disabilities could all be discussed in the same room. In the real world, there are pamphlets and brochures for buildings made specifically for those things, and they all mention some sort of “treatment” or “therapy” as a solution. I am not saying that everything should be mixed together. Nor am I saying that these cases DON’T warrant treatment or therapy. I DO, however, think that people who don’t always go through mental or emotional anguish struggle internally with seeking outside help when nobody is naturally checking on their well being. I use myself as an example because scholarships like this give me a way to express my own battles with my emotions (as I would hate to be frowned upon in the career I will be pursuing). I believe that mental health checks without judgement, assumption, and immediate consequences could help people tremendously, even if it were as simple as a survey at work or school. I say this because I was given assessments after the passing of my boyfriend in late March. They’re useful, but they could help a lot more people if assessed earlier.

As someone who has struggled their entire life with anxiety and maintaining mental well-being, I am lucky to have been sent to a therapist from a young age by my parents. This early exposure has kept me from holding stigma around mental healthcare and therefore allowed me to advocate openly for the benefits of therapy and treatment. I have personally helped many in my circles get connected to easily accessible providers to help them in their own mental health journey. A practical way to raise more kids without a preconceived stigma is getting more people comfortable with seeking help early. One way this can be done is through public policy. As a student of public policy and an advocate for civic engagement, I know the impact a policy solution can have. In my eyes, policy is the number one way to solve most of the pressing issues of our time. For example, this past year during my state's legislative session, I worked with different political action groups to lobby our legislators to pass a variety of bills. This included a bill that will now require full funding for public schools from elementary through high school to have on-site counseling services free to students. How wonderful would it be to have such easy access to a licensed mental health professional right at school? The next generation of youth in Washington state will grow up with that, slowly helping to destigmatize mental health services. This is something that should be done across the entire country in order to normalize seeking therapy and help from children's earliest years.