What Does The Wellness Team Do?
By Brett Pruefer
Holy Cross students may remember receiving a little card with mental health resources, fixed with a candy cane, just before Christmas. They may also recall seeing people talk around the halls with cups full of smoothie ingredients during lunch on the Wednesday of the last week of February, and perhaps you yourself joined in and enjoyed a smoothie. Or perhaps you got the chance to pet one of the adorable therapy dogs that visited our foyer. All these initiatives are devised, developed and facilitated by the
Wellness Team, the Holy Cross chapter of Jack.org, a Canadian non-profit organization focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention. I’ll discuss the development of mental health initiatives we implement in the school, but first I feel it’s important to discuss the history of the Jack.org organization.
Jack.org was founded in 2010 by Sandra Hanington and Eric Windeler after the suicide of their 18-year-old son, Jack Windeler. In his final letter to his parents, Jack expressed his wishes that his parents help others struggling with the same issues as him. Sandra and Eric took this to heart and founded Jack.org.
The organization began as a partnership with Kids Help Phone, raising money to expand existing mental health initiatives. Eventually, however, Jack.org became its own organization and today has more than 150 active chapters in universities, colleges, and high schools across Canada.
The Wellness Team at Holy Cross is one of these chapters. As a Catholic school community, we are called to support our brothers and sisters who struggle, and stand up for the marginalized, which includes those who feel alone and isolated due to mental health issues. We receive funding from Jack.org to organize mental health and wellness initiatives for the school community. We formulate these initiatives around four pillars: Fuel, Chill, Chat, and Play. A healthy body is important to a healthy mind, therefore as a Wellness Team we need to take a holistic approach to mental health by providing healthy food for people to enjoy.
It is very important to relax as a means of dealing with stress, so as a team we often try to develop initiatives that encourage relaxation and de-stressing. An example of this is the St. John Ambulance therapy dogs.
Humans are a social species, and our overall well-being is improved when we engage in community. Because of this, activities that get people talking to each other are often staples of our planning. People often connect while doing activities together, which aids in our team’s goal of building community as a means of improving people’s well-being.
In addition to the initiatives that we organize, the Wellness Team at Holy Cross also has the goal of raising awareness about the mental health issues students struggle with and directing students towards supports and resources to help them navigate these issues. We want students to know that there is support available for whatever they may be going through.
There are national and provincial resources, such as Kids Help Phone and the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline, as well as supports within our own school community. No student is alone at Holy Cross. No matter what a student may be struggling with, the staff at our school are willing and able to help. If you as a student feel overwhelmed, stressed, down, or just need someone to talk to, you are encouraged to visit our youth worker or social worker or chaplain.
The Holy Cross community is one that truly cares about its members, and it is my sincere hope that when we as a Wellness Team tell students that they are not alone, they do not feel that these are empty words, but words that reflect the reality that every Holy Cross student belongs, has a place in our community, is welcome, and is loved.
The mission of the Holy Cross Wellness Team is to improve the well-being of our school community by offering activities that benefit the physical and mental health of students and making students aware of the support that exists within the school community.
If as a student you are interested in becoming involved with the Wellness Team, feel free to stop by one of our monthly meetings about getting involved. Parents and community members are also encouraged to reach out with any questions or suggestions.
I hope this article answered any questions you may have had about the Wellness Team at Holy Cross. It is our sincere hope that Holy Cross students, and anyone reading this, know that they are not alone in anything, and that they are loved. Take care and God Bless.