Nearly 200 high school students from around the region wrote messages to their peers on Monday.
Keep your head up.
Don’t give up.
You’re not alone.
It’s OK to not be OK.
As members of their school’s Aevidum clubs, the students want to live by the club’s meaning. The Latin word translates to “I’ve got your back.”
Schools throughout the region started Aevidum clubs after students returned to in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students had felt isolated, anxious and depressed during the pandemic, and mental health needs — and awareness — soared.
“I feel like a lot of people kind of were in a dark time … When we came back to school it was still awkward for a couple of years. There was still that ripple effect that it had,” Lakeland senior Emily Black said. “This is really just community and unity. And I keep saying those words … it really did bring a lot of people in our school together.”
Lakeland hosted the “Aevidum: One Big Tribe” event on Monday, bringing together students from 15 schools within the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit. A group of students from Lancaster County founded Aevidum about 20 years ago, after losing a classmate to suicide.
Students participated in discussions and workshops at Lakeland and stitched sleeping bags for distribution to homeless individuals through the organization the Sleeping Bag Project.
“The mental health issues that we're seeing in our schools are more and more challenging … And I think this focus on strong mental health and wellness and connectivity is so important, now more than ever,” said Eliza Vagni, director of educational programs and services for the intermediate unit. “Kids just look for connection, and I think these clubs send that message out.”
Lakeland started its Aevidum program last year. In a school of 650 students, 150 signed up to be part of it.
“It just shows how much of an issue it really is, and how passionate the kids are about making a difference with it,” said Zach Watters, a school counselor at Lakeland. “The kids really take the lead. They are doing as much as we will allow them to, to really make the school a better, more welcoming environment.”
At Lakeland, those efforts have included special basketball games, positive messages on lockers, an assembly on mental health and hosting “disconnect to connect” lunches, in which students put their phones away and focus on face-to-face communication.
Sophomore Eli Carmody planned to take ideas back to Honesdale High School.
“I just like to bring mental health awareness and positivity throughout the school,” he said. “It's had a positive impact. It's really allowed for students to just have a group to come to and just have friends and people they know they can lean to.”
In Montrose, students have also seen a positive change since starting an Aevidum club.
“It's cool to see all the people just coming together as a community,” freshman Isaac Dilmore said. “It improves people's mindset, and it just helps brighten their day.”
