Myers Park High School committee launches initiatives to address student mental health

CHARLOTTE — Dotted around the campus of Myers Park High School are discrete plaques with words of encouragement and QR codes designed to boost student mental health.

The QR codes link to audio recordings that offer support, resources and personal stories from students and mental health professionals alike.

It’s part of a larger effort focused on mental health awareness in the wake of immense tragedy. Justin Perry, a licensed therapist, says several students have died by suicide in recent years.

“It’s one thing to have it happen and to tragically whisper about it, but it’s another thing to acknowledge it out loud as something that’s happening not only here, but across our community,” Perry told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis.

Some Myers Park student say initiatives like this one have made it easier to talk about mental health.

“I’ve noticed a change,” Cooper Hofmann said. “If we can just change one person’s life, that’s, like, more impactful that I could ever imagine.”

Hofmann and fellow Myers Park student Evie Altmeyer are board members on the Mental Health Committee.

“Both my sisters have struggled with mental health, and I felt, like, a close connection to it,” Altmeyer said. “Being able to work with people my age, and then also just my fellow peers, it was really important.”

The committee includes teens and adults. Among the initiatives it’s brought to campus are speakers and therapy dogs.

Assistant Principal Courtney Armstrong says more students are now asking for help.

“We’re just trying to reach the need of what our students go through before it gets to a point where there’s no turning back,” she said.

They’re hopeful this will be a program that meets students where they are and keeps the conversation going.

“Suicide is no one’s fault, but it’s everybody’s responsibility,” Armstrong said. “We cannot tackle this unless we have everybody help us out.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available 24/7. Just call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

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