HHS opens brand new Wellness Center

On Monday, Oct. 28th, the HHS Wellness Center will make a grand opening in its second year of existence.

The Wellness Center was founded last year to be a setting for increasing awareness and decreasing stigma for mental illnesses. They offered TASC sessions during school on both Tuesday and Wednesday along with meetings after school that included different mindfulness activities.

There was a soft opening for the unfinished product of the Wellness Center last December, but according to Liv Steen, junior, there was still more work that needed to be done.

“We didn’t have all the resources in place last year to make it what we wanted and make it what the administration wanted. Collaborating with the administration was also pretty hard and there were many people who didn’t know what the Wellness Center was,” Steen said. 

The grand opening is more than a way to draw attention and publicity to the Wellness Center after a lack of awareness last year, however. A new space within the Counseling and Career Center, therapy animals, and increased hours within the school day are just some of the changes that one can expect from the Wellness Center this year.

Mental Health Matters, formerly Royals United, is the driving force behind everything concerning the Wellness Center. Last year, Royals United and DECA worked together on the “Break the Stigma” event to fund improvements for the Wellness Center. Steen, alongside Mimi Allen, senior are leading the charge for Mental Health Matters and are excited about the direction that the Wellness Center is going in.

“Our three key pillars are to increase awareness while decreasing stigma, collaborate with staff and admin, and provide resources to people who are struggling with their mental health and I think that we are in a good position to meet all of those goals,” Allen said.

In the week preceding the grand opening, Mental Health Matters will be coordinating mindfulness games in The Mall between first and second block. They will also be coordinating WIN sessions next week to promote the Wellness Center.