- Identify staff whom students can talk to when they are struggling with their mental well being
- Encourage students to talk to someone when they are struggling
- Raise awareness about mental health and strengthen the relationship between students and staff
- Students are often told to ask an adult for help when they’re struggling with their mental health. Asking for help is always hard, but it can be even harder if folks don’t know which adults they can turn to.
- Providing staff an easy, visible way to signal to students that they’re a safe person to talk to about mental health can help remove that barrier
- Entire school, including staff
- Principal, teachers, any other staff member committed to mental health
- Counselors & social workers who can provide information on how to refer students for counseling and support them when they reach out to teachers
- During a club meeting, students can decorate blank stickers that say things along the lines of “we’re here” or “we’re here for you”
- Alternatively, reach out to OMM ahead of time to request some OMM stickers that can take the place of a “we’re here” sticker!
- Work together to identify teachers and staff members that would be willing to speak to students about their mental health struggles to put up the sticker on or near their door or desk.
- You can do this by sharing the flyer with every staff member in the building explaining what your OMM club does and why you’re asking them to display stickers OR
- Ask your club sponsor for support in identifying staff members who would be willing to display the stickers
- Once all the stickers are ready and staff has been identified, take a few minutes to go around the school and hand them out, or place them in their mailboxes. Don’t forget to thank them for their commitment to mental health!
- Make an announcement over the morning news/social media/etc about the stickers. Inform students that if a sticker is on the teacher’s door, it means that the teacher is someone they can talk to when they’re struggling and can support them in getting more help if needed.
- Encourage the teachers who placed stickers on their door to explain the meaning during their classes too,
- Both of these promotional tactics should be done multiple times throughout the year to ensure everyone hears the announcements and remembers the meaning behind the stickers. Make a habit of reminding folks once a week or once a month!
- Check with teachers after a few months to see if anyone has talked to them after seeing the sticker on their door
- They shouldn’t reveal any information about any students who came to talk to them, but they can let you know if anyone has or not!
- Talk to students around school to see what they think about the stickers. A question you could ask is: Does seeing those stickers make you feel safer talking to that staff member?
- What would you do if you or someone you know was struggling with their mental health? Would you feel comfortable talking to a teacher about it?
- How else can we make our school a more supportive environment?
- Check with school counselors to see if they have any stickers, flyers, or other informational materials about how to seek help at school and ensure that every staff member with a sticker on their door has these materials too.
- Be There Certificate
Inspired by TJ Minds Matter