Active Minds, a new student-run group at Saint Louis University, is getting ready to make its debut. The club is a local chapter of the nationwide Active Minds organization, which bills itself as a “mental health awareness, advocacy and education group.” The organization has 150 chapters across America, although the only other chapter in Missouri is located at the University of Missouri.

Senior Amanda Textor, the group’s chair, explained that Active Minds is “not a support group,” but rather a group that “works to promote awareness and spark dialogue.”

One of the main goals of the club is to reduce the stigma that is sometimes attached to mental health illnesses.

“Mental health is a problem among college students,” Textor said. “It can be a scary and isolating experience.”

Textor said that the group is still “in its preliminary stages,” and that the turnout and discussion meetings will influence the group’s activities. In addition, she said she is looking forward to hosting awareness weeks that focus on different mental illnesses and perhaps sponsoring speakers on mental health subjects.

“Right now our main focus is on recruitment,” Textor said.
Those interested in Active Minds can e-mail Textor at [email protected] or look for the SLU Active Minds group on Facebook.