Seeking change for Souderton’s mental health space, the Peyton Heart Club headed to Pottsgrove High School to participate in a workshop led by the non-profit organization Aevidum on April 12.
Stemming from its mother organization, the Peyton Heart Project, the Peyton Heart Club (PHC) hopes to provide a safe space for students, both mentally and socially.
The club aims to equip the Souderton community with the necessary strategies and tools to manage and regulate their mental health.
“The Peyton Heart Project Club is a club that just wants to promote the awareness of mental health and suicide prevention,” PHC president Lauren Fisher said, “and wants to welcome any and all people who want to become members or want to be introduced to the club.”
Overall, for Peyton Heart, the club and its members hope to spread mental health awareness, to assist those on their mental health journey and to make their high school experience much more manageable.
“Our goal was to create a space in the high school where mental health could be talked about openly,” PHC founder Cassie Rodrique said. “Not only to create that safe space, but to also educate and empower my fellow high school students and myself.”
The club was founded as a product of one of Rodrique’s personal experiences with a struggling friend that almost committed suicide.
According to Rodrique, who graduated from Souderton in 2020, that was when she saw the need for a change.
“[It was] so that other students or friends wouldn’t have to go through a lot of what my friend was going through,” said Rodrique, “or if you are a friend of someone, not having to carry that burden of being the only one knowing that someone is struggling. It is great to have an open community for that to be discussed.”
The Aevidum workshop was an opportunity for the club to branch out and expand.
According to Peyton Heart Club advisor Blair Harper, the workshop covers the expanse of a day at Pottsgrove High School, with the goal of the event “to uncover the taboo on mental health and suicide.”
Since both organizations’ missions are similar, Harper believes the takeaways will be beneficial for the club’s future.
“I think we’ll get some ideas of what they do that we could adopt and do here as well,” Harper said.
Before attending the April 12 event, Peyton Heart secretary Sahana George, was looking forward to learning from Aevidum and figuring out how to apply their new-found knowledge.
“I think just club-wise, just what they are doing with their clubs and how we can use [strategies],” George said.
Many were excited to make those new connections with individuals similarly working towards the same cause.
“I’m looking forward to meeting people who have similar clubs and programs at their school and seeing what they are doing,” George said.