Be The Light: Mental Health and Awareness Day will take place next Tuesday, Feb. 18^, at 7 p.m.  in the Harper Center Ballroom. Students Katie Garrity, Anna Wattles, Sam Troia, and Tommy Majda, with support from the Department of Residence Life have worked to organize the event and are hoping it will provide many students with information and resources regarding mental health.

“The main goal is to get people talking about mental health. We want Creighton to be a place where people aren’t scared or embarrassed to talk about mental health, but feel safe and supported,” said Garrity, a College of Arts & Sciences senior.

While many suffer from problems regarding mental health, Anna Wattles found that little discussion was taking place due to lack of understanding.

“I became passionate about mental health awareness when I realized how many people are affected by mental illness but do not feel comfortable talking about it due to the stigma,” said Wattles, a College of Arts & Sciences junior.

The idea for the event started after Wattles and Garrity had a discussion about the lack of awareness surrounding the issue of mental health on Creighton’s campus.

“Anna Wattles and I were talking about mental health after class one day last semester. We were talking about the stigma behind mental health and how frustrated we were about it,” said Garrity. “We thought it would be nice to do something to bring conversation about on campus. She asked Tommy Majda and Sam Troia to help us and we got the ball rolling.”

The event will include student keynote speakers, Katie McGuire, Tommy Majda and Katie Garrity, who will share from personal experience why mental health awareness is important to them.  Dr. Alicia Klanecky from the psychology department will also discuss the science behind mental health as well as debunk some misconceptions.

Representatives from Campus Ministry, the Creighton Counseling Center, and the Department of Residence Life will also be present to give a comprehensive view of resources Creighton has to offer.

Garrity and Wattles says that if there is one message students get out of going to the event, they hope that it is, “It’s okay to talk about mental health.”