Community embraces #HealWithIt

BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA News & Managing Editor

A Self-Care Summit organized by the student-led mental health awareness campaign #HealWithIt engaged the Plattsburgh community in programming all across campus Saturday, May 6. The event was also referred to as Self-Care Saturday.

The summit began with a welcome session at Cardinal Lounge on the second floor of the Angell College Center. Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman called #HealWithIt a “critical campaign in our community” and spoke on the importance of educating a community about mental health.

“Self-care is community care,” Cashman said.

Cashman signed the paper with #HealWithIt’s pledge in support of selfcare and painted the palm of his hand bright green — a distinguishing symbol of the #HealWithIt campaign.

Robert Henn, one of the 16 students part of #HealWithIt, said the intention of the summit is to direct attendees’ attention to the eight pillars of wellness the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration identifies: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, vocational and financial. Every one of the summit’s events corresponded to one or multiple of these pillars.

The physical pillar refers to taking care of one’s body and was satisfied by a Kundalini yoga session led by student Saanvi Moryani. The emotional pillar encourages people to understand their own emotions and be considerate of others’. The features dedicated to this pillar were therapy dogs from Canine Kennel Club and the Student Health and Counseling Center all day at the ACC.

For the spiritual pillar exploring one’s values and view of life, the club Learning and Experiencing God and the Plattsburgh Baha’i Community held a panel and answered questions in the Cardinal Lounge.