NAMI hosts a walk for mental health

Story and photos by RORY MOORE

Tiger Media Network

The Fort Hays State University chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness organized the annual Walk for Wellness led by students on Thursday. It began at a starting point at Frontier Park and took place on the city walking trail before ending at a finishing point marked at the sidewalk bedside Hammond Hall. 

Psychology major Annalise Elder, treasurer for NAMI at FHSU, helped organize the event by adding uplifting messages written with chalk. 

“The Walk for Wellness is just to bring people together and do a mind and body exercise,” she said. “We also wrote a lot of positive messages to encourage and uplift people while things are getting harder academically. It’s also a good chance for our group to socialize.”

The Walk for Wellness has been an ongoing effort by the group, which has incorporated it into campus functions for more exposure.

We did two of these walks last year around this time,” Elder said. “We wanted to integrate into things like the 40 Days at the Fort events and welcoming events so people would get out here and actually walk with us.”

Nevaeh Copenhaver, also a psychology major, is the president of the NAMI Fort Hays chapter and secretary of the Psychology Club, which collaborates with the organization in numerous events, including the Walk for Wellness.

“There is a very clear relationship between mental health and physical health,” she said. “So, we just want to try to encourage people to go outside, take a break from studying at their desk, and join like-minded people just to get moving and enjoy the day.”

Copenhaver notes that the walk is meant to persuade people to feel comfortable caring for their well-being and finding help when needed.

“There’s still a lot of stigmas surrounding mental health,” Copenhaver said. “But we want to bring up this conversation, and we want to make it clear to people that they matter, their feelings matter, and they’re not broken even if they are struggling with some mental health issues.”