Kennedy’s Cougar Bandana Club offers peer-to-peer mental health support to students who seek help or display signs of need. The group has recruited more than 100 student advocates this year.
“The more people that join, the better,” President of Cougar Bandana, McKenna Knock said. “Our main goal is to get a yellow bandana on everyone’s backpack and give everyone the knowledge to understand and advocate for mental health awareness.”
Peer-to-peer support can come in various forms, such as having a knowledgeable person to consult or an ally to talk with.
“With adolescents, the first people they go to are their friends when they are struggling,” Cougar Bandana Sponsor Dana Melone said. “Having students from different friend groups and all different extracurriculars is important to help spread awareness and end stigma.”
Some important projects that the club will be working on this year are getting books from the American Psychological Association that are geared toward teaching mental health to lower elementary students. The club will also advocate to the district for book purchases related to mental health for middle and high school students. Later in the year, they will create an “I am an Ally” video project that will bring visibility to the different parts of the building and its members.
More than 60% of students ages 13-17 suffer from mental health issues. 87% of students surveyed indicated they struggle with issues such as stress, anxiety, mood swings, and behavioral disorders.
“I think that having such a big group in Cougar Bandana helps to reach everyone in the school in some way,” Knock said. “There’s a very high chance that if someone needs help, there will be at least one person in Cougar Bandana that they are comfortable talking with!”
