The Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan’s flagship program is called Be Nice. At the macrolevel, how we treat one another has effects how someone thinks, acts and feels.
“So, how we treat one another has an effect on someone’s mental health.”
Christy Buck is Executive Director.
“If someone is hammered every day, beat up with people not being kind. Mocking with harassment. Just, picking on them. Someone can be quite sad, quite lonely. It can also bring about anger. So, can I be part of a solution by making my school part of a culture to treat everyone with respect and dignity.”
The micro level, it’s identifying the good in everyone. Buck explains students can pick up on classmate cues. In particular, change. And not always for the good.
“They’ve changed the way they dress. They’ve changed their appearance. Their social media has become dark. Their social media has become violent. This is all out there. It’s not anything that you have to read in whether or not your political views are? This is research.”
These are the clues and warnings. Through the Be Nice program, students learn its okay to make teachers aware. From there, it’s connecting with family members and providing mental health resources that can redirect students.
For more information, benice.org.
