SHAW holds Mental Health First Aid class

By Kailee Shermak shermakk@grinnell.edu

Student Health and Wellness tions and practices, the dialogues are additionally focused on dismantling the notion that Muslims and Jews are hostile towards each other, said Hammouda.

(SHAW) hosted classes to prepare studentstohelp mitigatementalhealth situations. These classes consisted of discussion-based learning about recognizing signs of mental health issues and how to approach those issues.

Over spring break, virtual classes were held on March 21-22. Prior to break, however, an in-person session was hosted on March 4 that three students and one faculty member attended.

Mary Ann Schwindt `24, an attendee of the class, said the content was informative and gave her a breadthoftoolstohelpthosewhomay be struggling with mental health.

“It’s really important because that way we’re able to prevent any sort of catastrophic event for that person. We all care about each other. That’s what I love about Grinnell,” Schwindt said.

“Hammouda and I are both very committed to fighting back against this projection because we don’t think it’s true and we think that there’s actually a lot of overlap between our communities,” said Brammer-Shlay.

In the first two sessions, students were engaged, asked plenty of questions, and gave positive feedback. Students are also interested in there being more events about Israel-Palestine specifically, according to both Hammouda and Brammer-Shlay.

The Muslim-Jewish Dialogue series differs from the Inter-Religious Conversations held by Reverend Deanna Shorb and Rabbi

Brammer-Shlay every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. The Inter-Religious conversations focus more on theories and practices of religious traditions.

While the Muslim-Jewish Dialogues do touch on religious tradi- they expected. The role-playing activities and discussions allowed for the content to be reflective of the attendees’ lives rather than an out-of-touch presentation, Carroll said.

This echoes the intended purpose of hosting these classes, according to Alexis Steele, the manager of SHAW operations and the instructor of these classes. Mental Health First Aid is meant to equip attendees with preventative measures they can take before someone is in a mental health crisis, she explained.

“We know a lot of students care, and we get a lot of students concerned about other students,” Steele said about the initial purpose for her becoming certified to instruct this course and offer it at the College.

“I thought it was probably the most coherent, and frank and useful mental health discussion I’ve ever been in,” she said about her experience in the Mental Health First Aid class.

The class offered a range of information to attendees concerning responding to mental health issues and connecting people to resources, Schwindt and Carroll said. However, the class also helped Schwindt identify when she was out of her depth when dealing with these issues, she said.

“We’re not certified to give too much advice, really. We’re certified to help people get connected to the right resources,” Schwindt said.

Carroll `25

The content taught within this class is versatile and includes valuable lifelong skills, according to Steele. Though the language and approach someone uses may change depending on who they are addressing, these tools can apply to a wide range of situations, she explained.

As of now nothing has been planned for continuing these dialogues in the fall of 2023, but both Hammouda and Brammer-Shlay said they are interested in continuing them.

“I’m hoping that this is just the start of having these conversations and building these relationships,” Brammer-Shlay said.