To kick off the Missouri Students Association’s Wellness Week, MSA and Minority Mental Health Matters collaborated on Monday, Feb. 9, to create an event that highlighted minority wellness.
Through bingo, a presentation and talking with one another, attendees began to understand the process of radical healing at Mizzou.
Student well-being counselor and MMHM advisor Remya Perinchery started the event by giving a presentation on the five frameworks of radical healing: critical consciousness, strength and resistance, cultural authenticity, collectivism and leaning into the purpose.
“When people talk about minority mental health, it’s often on maybe the barriers or the challenges or the problems, which I think there’s a lot of work in having those conversations,” she said. “But looking at students really, we also really want to have a takeaway, something that you all can walk away with and say, what’s something that maybe helps me feel uplifted and empowered.”
MMHM is a student organization that strives to create a safe space for minorities and people of color to learn about mental health and enhance their mental stability.
In their meetings, MMHM connects with their members by sharing slides, doing icebreakers and participating in an activity that will help de-stress them and provide peace from the outside world.
At their previous meeting, they made scrapbooks where the slides taught a lesson of rebranding yourself for the new year, but not changing who you are.
MMHM President Riley Basano says she is dedicated to creating connections between members at events. This is shown through even the smallest of actions, like her and the rest of the executive team standing with members instead of up front like a typical executive team.
“We’re out in the crowd,” Basano said. “We’re all talking to the people, the audience, we’re trying to become friends. We create a relationship with them, not just see them as people coming to our event.”
Basano believes creating connections is important because it will help expand the organization, as this is only their third year running.
“I truly hope that after this year and all the years to come, that when you think of Mizzou and you think of mental health, you think of Minority Mental Health Matters,” she said.
While this is their first collaboration with MSA, Basano hopes to host semesterly or annual events in the future to help spread awareness of minority mental health.
MSA vice president Kaylie Lineback said she’s happy with all the information MMHM is providing to the student body.
“Really it’s just about uplifting those voices and those resources, not being just the person who stands up in front of the group and starts talking, but really just giving a platform to the people who know best,” Lineback said.
In addition to being MMHM president, Basano is a full-time student and has a full-time and part-time job, but said she feels at peace within her busy schedule when attending MMHM meetings.
“It gives me a safe space as well, not just for the audience, but it helps me,” Basano said. “It gives me a break.”
Basano hopes that people’s overall takeaway from this event is that there is a deeper reason behind their emotions and actions.
“It is okay to feel how you feel, and it’s okay not to feel how you think you should or how the world thinks you should,” she said. “I think that’s very important because people just don’t realize that that’s okay.”
