Yale Student Mental Health Association (YSMHA)

Our Mission:

MISSION STATEMENT:
Yale Student Mental Health Association is a student organization that aims to raise awareness about mental illness and mental health resources and advocate for changes that promote mental health in the Yale community.

GOALS
To educate students about mental illness through guest speakers, film screenings, and discussions
To advocate for policy and culture changes that promote mental health
To reduce stigma surrounding mental illness by creating a platform for students to share their experiences of mental illness at student panels
To create a forum for open discussion of mental health issues on campus

Our Activities:

Community Service & Outreach Branch
Direct Service
The community service and outreach branch works to engage the New Haven community and volunteer with local groups. During the semesters, we develop a curriculum for our partnership with Mindful Exchanges that has allowed us to create modules that are then used to run interactive sessions with youth in the summer. We engage in discussion about mental health/mindfulness and ways to make it more approachable and are currently looking to expand to local schools as we strive to change how mental health is perceived and supported, accomplishing this through our workshops with topics on self-care, mindfulness, the science behind meditation and other practices, using music and other creative outlets for well-being, and much more.

On-Campus Initiatives Branch
Direct Service
On-campus initiatives aims to develop ideas and opportunities to collaborate with other groups on-campus and bring the Yale community together. They work on designing activities that are engaging throughout the semester (hot cocoa nights, friendsgiving, crafts, yoga, study breaks with snacks, and other fun wellness activities).

Research & Policy Branch
Research & Public Policy Analysis
Our main goal this semester is the development of a survey to be distributed to Yale students that aims to gauge their perception of Yale's mental health policies and services. The results of this survey will be used in conversations with administration.

Student Leaders:

Ben Swinchoski - Co-Coordinator/Co-President Karen Ayoub - Co-Coordinator/Co-President