A new group on the Downtown campus plans to promote physical and mental health by training students to mentor and speak with peers about healthy living.
Two nursing students launched Downtown Phoenix Campus Aware at the beginning of the semester to help promote available student resources.
Freshman Beth Levy said she was investigating teen dating violence for a paper she was writing for an English class, and found a group on the Tempe that also promoted healthy living. After contacting the group organizer, she found that another group was being started on the Downtown campus by sophomore Cassandra Isme.
“I thought educating people on topics like teen violence was something I would really enjoy,” Levy said. “We met and began combining our thoughts and ideas and we had DPC Aware.”
The group plans to focus on various topics each month and have guest speakers come to talk about various themes, like stress management and healthy relationships, she said.
“We’d share basic knowledge and if people wanted to talk about their experiences, they would have that option as well,” Levy said.
Some of the topics include eating disorders, nutrition, relationship violence and stress, she said.
Isme said while the group will be going out into the community to address the topics, the leaders are serving more as activists in helping students find resources than as counselors.
“If a student comes to us and says they are struggling with school, we might point them in the direction of the Student Success Center,” Isme said. “A lot of times students don’t know what resources are available to them, and we have so many.”
Justice studies freshman Shannon Langford said a group like this is a welcome addition to the Downtown campus, and echoed Isme’s sentiment that many students aren’t aware of available resources.
“A group like this would really be a great way to help connect students to resources when they are struggling with topics like these,” she said. “I know a bunch of my friends have been going through things like relationship problems and are in this slump and don’t know how to get out of it.”
The group has about five people who are interested in leadership roles and 15 people who are hoping to go through training to become mentors.
“I think this will be a great group for the campus,” Isme said. “Since we’re a smaller campus, I think we’ll really be able to connect with people and students will become more aware that a lot of resources are within walking distance.”
Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu
