With the ever-increasing rise of depression and anxiety in America, mental health awareness is becoming a more prevalent issue every day. The East Fly Free club remains a positive influence on mental health awareness among the district area.
One of the newer clubs at East, the Fly Free club, was created in the 2023-2024 school year. Its mission is to help spread awareness about mental health as well as empower the local community.
“Fly Free’s focus is to help not only the school but the community be able to fly free of the negativity and stigma that surrounds mental health,” East senior and president of Fly Free, Stella Tischer, told Spark. “So we’re school-based, but we’re also community-based.”
The club brainstormed ideas to reach as many people as possible. They decided to host the first annual Mental Health Night for community members to attend and learn more about mental health awareness.
“The mental health night is something Tischer and the Fly Free has been wanting to do since the start of their group,” club mentor and mental health professional, Belon Hill, told Spark. “Watching it go from just an idea to an actual successful event made me so proud.”
The Mental Health Night was held on March 26 at the East Freshman Campus. All East students and community members were welcome to the event, which was entirely planned and funded by Tischer and Fly Free..
“I just felt like a lot of the mental health resources don’t reach the people who need them most,” said Tischer. “I tried to create a mental health night that would be open to anyone and everyone.”
Local businesses were crucial to the success of the evening; several businesses from the East community donated food to Fly Free for the event. Gift cards and other merchandise were also donated as prizes in raffle baskets.
Information tables made by local mental health organizations were available at the event. The tables held activities, prizes, and crafts, as well as information about mental health awareness and positivity.
Some of the local organizations that sponsored tables included: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Sunrise Treatment Center, Edge Teen Center, The Anxiety Center, The Complete Athlete Foundation, and Envision Partnership’s Agents of Change. East and West clubs that also focus on mental health awareness were represented. The free resources at the tables were available to all attendees of the event.
“Mental health does not have an age limit, so we felt it was important that the resources present could cater to all ages,” said Hill.
Additionally, the Mental Health Night featured several accomplished speakers who shared their struggles with mental health and tips on staying positive in the midst of struggle.
One of the event speakers was East Psychology teacher Justin Dennis, who shared about his rapid decline in mental health in a seemingly perfect time of his life.
Another guest speaker was a representative from the Complete Athlete Foundation who shared about the founder’s attempted suicide and subsequent desire to encourage mental health awareness in student athletes.
“The guest speakers that we had did an incredible job sharing their stories to the people so that [the guests could have] something to relate to,” the vice president of Fly Free club, Jackson Kusmer, told Spark.
The Mental Health Night was an incredible success, and Fly Free hopes to host another event next year and reach even more members of the community.
“People don’t take mental health as seriously as they do other stuff,” said Tischer. “Holding such a big event showed people how important [positive mental health] is, and that we talk about it and provide resources for it, too.”
Fly Free is not the only East club focused on mental health awareness; East’s Hope and Strength club also promotes positive mental health in the school.
STRIVE is an active East club that helps student athletes develop positive mental wellness. Furthermore, the East Freshman Yoga and Mindfulness Club pairs learning about mental health with yoga to teach how to keep a healthy mind and body.
With the end of the 2024-2025 school year quickly approaching, many clubs are being forced to adjust to the sudden absence of the most experienced club members: East seniors.
As a founding member of Fly Free, Tischer was present for the very start of the club. However, even as she leaves East to start a new chapter in her life, Tischer is confident in Fly Free’s ability to continue to positively impact and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
“I hope that Fly Free continues to be able to spread awareness about mental health, and be a positive source for people at school and in the community,” Tischer told Spark.
