#IWILLLISTEN well received

By Editor | April 21, 2015 |

STEVE HARTMAN/DAILY FORUM
Northwest Missouri State University Provost Timothy Mottet presents Maryville mayor Renee Riedel with a football signed by the Northwest Football team pledging their commitment to #IWILLLISTEN, a gathering of support held to fight the stigma of mental illness, held Monday on the NWMSU campus. Mayor Riedel read a proclamation giving the #IWILLLISTEN campaign support from the city of Maryville.

Over 500 people overflowed the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University in support of #IWILLLISTEN, a visible social media campaign designed to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness in the United States.

“The #IWILLLISTEN campaign is unique because it is different from most mental health campaigns,” Dr. Carla Edwards, Northwest professor of psychology said. “Most mental health campaigns have a list of symptoms and tell the person struggling where to get help. This one tries to get the community and people who don’t struggle with mental illness to pay attention to how they affect people who are mentally ill.”

Statistics show that one in four Americans are affected by mental illness. The #IWILLLISTEN campaign focuses on the three out of four people who don’t struggle with mental illess, but who can make a difference in the lives of those who struggle with the disease, just by listening.

“The Northwest campaign will be great for students to enlighten them on the struggles of mental health issues and to show them that there are people in the community and on campus who are willing to come together and support whatever struggles they might be going through,” Keyonna Hawkins, a senior psychology major from St. Joseph, Missouri said. “The campaign is also a great opportunity to reach out to the three out of four people who don’t struggle with mental health issues. It gives them a fun and informational chance to understand and learn about those struggles.”

Maryville mayor Renee Riedel read a proclamation pledging the city’s support of #IWILLLISTEN. Northwest Provost Timothy Mottet presented Riedel with an autographed NWMSU team football. The autographed football represented the team’s support of #IWILLLISTEN.

Maryville High School’s Spectrum choir, under the direction of Vanessa Parsons, performed for the overflow crowd. Several organizations received recognition for going above and beyond in their support of the event. These include Maryville Hy-Vee, Maryville Walmart, Aramark Campus Food Services, the Northwest Behavioral Sciences organization and the local chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms, a national non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

Barb Ricci, head of the board of directors for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) flew in from New York to be the keynote speaker for the event and was impressed with the level of support from the community and the university.

“The support #IWILLLISTEN is generating from both the community and the university is both rare and extremely positive,” Ricci said. “It is exciting to see a small community and university in the Midwest get behind a nationwide program such as #IWILLLISTEN and support it so well.”

Students involved in the project through student organizations such as the Behavioral Sciences Association and To Write Love on Her Arms will search campus and the community to film #IWILLLISTEN videos showing the community’s support for the effort on Tuesday, April 21.

STEVE HARTMAN/DAILY FORUM
Barb Ricci, head of the board of directors for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) was the keynote speaker for Monday’s #IWILLLISTEN gathering of support, held in the J.W.Jones Student Union Ballroom on the NWMSU campus.

STEVE HARTMAN/DAILY FORUM
The J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom saw an overflow crowd gather for #IWILLLISTEN, a gathering of support for those suffering from mental illness. Guests saw videos, listened to music from the Maryville High School Spectrum choir and heard several speakers, including keynote speaker Barb Ricci of New York. Ricci is the head of the board of directors for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).