By Jill Bongiorni, News Staff
This May, a team of Northeastern students will be enjoying a scenic view of the Charles River as they walk for a cause. They will walk among 7,000 volunteers with a common goal that unites them: to fight mental illness.
“For many people, college is when depression hits for the first time. I’ve seen it happen with several friends of mine the past couple of years,” said middler international affairs and environmental studies major Catia Sharp, who is currently on co-op at the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts. “That’s why I think college students should really get involved and know what they’re up against and what their friends might be facing.”
One in five adults above the age of 18 have a diagnosable mental illness and college is often the time when these illnesses manifest, according to a study by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
This is why Sharp chose NAMI Mass as her co-op this semester, where she has been focused mainly on organizing the eighth annual NAMIWalks, which will take place Saturday, May 21 in Brighton.
“The message spoke to me,” Sharp said of NAMI.
The goal of the NAMIWalks is to raise awareness about mental illnesses and stop the stigma associated with them, hence this year’s slogan: “Changing Minds One Step at a Time.”
“I definitely think there is a stigma with mental illness and I think this walk is going to be really cool, assuming there will be a lot of people there to show their support,” said junior mechanical engineering major Deborah Furman, who has registered to participate in the three-mile walk for the first time. “Hopefully over time it’ll be easier for people with mental illness to live with it in their lives.”
The walk will begin at Artesani Park at 1234 Soldiers Field Rd, in Brighton.
“People form teams and walk for loved ones or if they have a mental illness themselves or are caretakers,” Sharp said. “It’s a diverse group of people coming together to walk to break the stigma that surrounds mental illness and to celebrate hope, resilience and recovery.”
Sharp created a Northeastern team earlier this week, which is open to all Northeastern students who are interested in participating. Registration is free and no fundraising is necessary, although it is encouraged.
“We’re looking for college-age volunteers or they can sign up and join the Northeastern walk team,” said Sharp, who will be working and walking. “It’s a really scenic and gorgeous route along the Charles River. Anyone can come and walk with us.”
At least five Northeastern students have already registered to participate in the walk. Furman, who has seen the effects of mental illness firsthand when she worked at Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., plans to run the three-mile trail.
“When I was working at the hospital, I learned a lot about how there is a stigma with mental illness,” Furman said. “It sucks that people feel like they can’t share with others that they have one of these illnesses or that others think their illness isn’t real. It’s definitely important to reduce the effects of that.”
The walk will also feature contests and prizes, like a T-Shirt design contest, in which participants get to design their own shirt to wear in the walk and a winner is announced on stage and given a prize. NAMI also created fundraising incentives for team captains, like a signed football from Patriots center Dan Koppen. Another prize, donated by JetBlue, is two travel vouchers for anywhere that JetBlue flies out of Logan, which will be awarded to all team captains who raised at least $100 for their team.
“Why wouldn’t you want to do something that’s free in the middle of May for a good cause?” Furman said.
