988 suicide prevention awareness event held by SGA and Wellness Center

Free succulents, free food, and life-saving resources drew a crowd to the Wright Campus Atrium. Hosted by SGA and the Wellness Center, the 988 event on sept. 8 gave students a chance to bond while building DIY terrariums, learn about community support, and participate in giveaways.

The event was held to, “raise awareness, share reasons for reaching out for support, and remind everyone: Help is always just three digits away.” According to Wright’s Wellness center’s Instagram page. 988 is the phone number for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

With the increased student engagement and bonding, students say that the event was very well planned and thought out, “last week we had not seen a number, I mean more students today,” said the Secretary of the SGA, William Flores. “I see students engaging and talking to each other, making friends, and I think that’s great.” Added Flores

The event was very welcoming, “it’s pretty nice to have a space where people can connect, even if you’re not the most social,” said Michael Chigoil, a finance major at Wright. “It’s a nice place to have food and chill and relax and talk to people.” Chigoil added. “I think having these events definitely help Wright build the community that four-year schools typically have that everybody shies away from in community college, and an event like this makes more people want to do school events,” said Andrea Schoewe, an art major at Wright.

Beyond bringing students together, the event also opened the door for a bigger conversation about advocating for mental health. “Mental Health is the basis of everything. In order to be able to do anything well, your mental health needs to be checked. I work in mental health, and I love mental health, and I think it’s so important. People need to know that,” said Emma Marrison, a peer specialist for Wright’s Wellness Center.

Wright students appreciated the opportunity to learn more about an issue that can often be overlooked. “Everything’s digital, everything’s online, so it’s easy to feel alone. So I think a little interaction goes a long way,” said Chigoil. He is not alone in his sentiment, “if you’re not happy doing what you’re doing, then you won’t want to do it. Like you should feel like you belong.” Said Sam-David Vieux, a business major at Wright.

The Wellness Center at Wright is here to support students, “we’re trying to introduce ourselves to students and let them know that there’s free resources on campus.” said Marrison. Flores added, “You don’t want to be so overwhelmed with how you feel because it just affects you in so many ways,”

This article was co-written by Leanna Lott.

Editor's note:

Co-author Maxine Rentegrado is a member of SGA but did not have any part in the planning or execution of the 988 event.

Interviewee Emma Marrision was the director or graphic design for the Wright Times in previous semester but is not currently involved with the Wright Times at the time of publishing.