Active Minds is a national organization that is dedicated to decreasing mental health stigma through meetings and campus events. The chapter aims to provide a safe, non-judgmental space for students to alleviate stress by learning about campus resources and connecting with fellow students.
The 501 (c) (3) nonprofit national organization was founded in 2003 by Alison Malmon after her brother died by suicide. Active Minds now has over 650 chapters and offers programs focused on mental health awareness and education.
At Ohio University, Active Minds’ focus is to create a space for students to have time to de-stress and decompress through various crafts and activities, such as Just Dance, board game and movie nights.
Reese Muttillo, a senior studying psychology, serves as this year’s president of Active Minds. Muttillo shares how Active Minds provides resources and a support system for students.
“In our club, we are very member-oriented,” Muttillo said. “We love to get feedback from our members and have them very involved with what we do and what activities we do in our meetings and tie it into mental health. We have open conversations, educate our members on different mental health resources across campus and have speakers come in from those resources and talk to our members about it as well.”
OU Active Minds involves itself with other organizations dedicated to mental health awareness, such as the National Alliance of Mental Illness. The next event OU Active Minds will be participating in is the NAMIWalk on Oct. 17. Active Minds will be raising donations for the walk that go towards free mental health programs for the community.
The organization’s impact expands outwards into the community, allowing students to get to know local organizations better. Active Minds' impact on OU’s campus is one of the reasons members love the club.
Kailey Resnik, a junior studying psychology and biological sciences at OU, works as the vice president of Active Minds.
“I went to the first meeting and never stopped going because it made a huge impact on me,” Resnik said. “I’ve always cared about mental health deeply. It’s been a very important thing in my family. Just to always know that people are here for you, because that’s all you need sometimes, to just have someone there for you.”
For those who share the same passion for mental health awareness, the influence of OU Active Minds can be seen on a personal level for those involved. Resnik said the beginning of her college experience was “very rocky,” but found peace and companionship with those of similar majors through OU Active Minds.
“My mental health was really bad,” Resnik said. “I would cry every morning. I was at the involvement fair and I found Active Minds, and it was revolved around mental health. I’m a psych major, and a bunch of the exec board were also psych majors, and I felt like Active Minds was perfect.”
Paige Herfurth, a junior studying biology at OU, said she came to the first meeting with her friends.
“I heard from them how fun it was,” Herfurth said. “They said it was stress relieving and just really low commitment, and I was really stressed about my classes, obviously. So it was kinda nice to just be able to take an hour out of my day to get away from classes and just kind of focus on yourself. I really enjoyed it when I started coming with them, and then I’ve been coming every single meeting since.”
Within their hour of meeting, Active Minds offers numerous crafts and activities accompanied by a presentation or guest speaker related to mental health and resources offered in the area.
Lily McCabe, a junior studying sports management and international business, said her favorite activity she participated in was when they provided the group with pots and seeds to paint and plant.
“I like how we always have different activities, but also if you miss something, it’s no pressure,” McCabe said. “Some other orgs it’s a lot of pressure, in this one it’s just like, ‘come if you can, if it fits in your schedule’“.
Active Minds meets regularly to give students space to connect. The organization’s meetings are Tuesdays bi-weekly from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and are located in Ellis 015. The next meeting date will be Sept. 22. Updates about meetings and events can be found on the organization's Instagram, @ouactiveminds.
With flexible meetings, creative activities and opportunities to advocate for mental health, Active Minds is always looking for new members who want to participate. The organization continuously gives students a safe space to connect and get involved with mental health awareness.
