Mental health issues are common on college campuses, and thanks to a stigma about these issues, it can be hard to seek help. However, To Write Love on Her Arms, a national organization with a new chapter at WSU, fights against this by raising awareness of suicide, depression, self-harm and addiction.
To Write Love on Her Arms began as a blog by Jamie Tworkowski, who was helping a friend struggling with self-harm in her journey through getting treatment. After printing t-shirts to raise money to cover the expenses involved in caring for her, people were inspired and an organization began to form. Now, To Write Love on Her Arms has spread across hundreds of college campuses.
The WSU chapter has been active since fall semester 2016, running tabling events to spread awareness.
“We’re dedicated to spreading awareness and hope to those who struggle with depression, suicide, self-harm and addiction,” Vice President Michelle Zeigler said. “It is our purpose to reach out to those people with these issues and give them hope, provide awareness for them and help them with the issues that they are struggling with.”
In wrapping up their first year on campus, To Write Love on Her Arms will be tabling on March 6 in the Student Union in recognition of suicide prevention. While tabling, they will hand out bracelets and affirmation rocks, or river rocks with encouraging phrases on them. They will also participate in a pattern project, in which students can wear patterns on their wrists in support of those suffering from mental health issues.
There will be a Chipotle fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chipotle on Zink rd., where students can help contribute to the cause by buying meals for To Write Love on Her Arms. On April 13, there will be a Trivia night sponsored by them from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Rathskeller room. They can also be found at April Craze at the end of the year.
Zeigler encourages anyone that finds themselves or someone they know struggling with mental health issues to reach out to To Write Love on Her Arms through email at TWLOHA.wsu2016@gmail.com. They can provide contacts to mental health clinics across the local area, even clinics that provide help for free or at a discounted cost.
“We’re passionate about what we do. We have information available for students that want to reach out to us, but they have to take that first step,” Zeigler said. “We can’t seek out and find them individually, they have to take that first step and send us that email. But once they do that and trust us, we can help. We can help them get on the path to recovery.”
