After her arrival at Poway High School three weeks ago, Student Services Specialist Rosalinda Koch quickly established a club based around the organization Bring Change to Mind (BC2M). 

“Bring Change to Mind is really just bringing more education on mental health and reducing that stigma of mental illness,” counselor Monica Taylor said. 

On Friday Oct. 20, homerooms showed a 30 second video from the BC2M national organization called Human to Human, with the message “Communication can end the stigma surrounding mental health and can save lives.” Homerooms also shared the QR code Koch sent which allowed for students to sign up for BC2M with their reason for interest in the club. If students missed the QR code and want to join, they can visit Koch or Taylor in the counseling office.

“I’m thinking of emailing teachers to see if they know of students who may be interested in joining, since the club will require students to be proactive,” Koch said. 

All high schools and middle schools in Poway Unified School District (PUSD) are bringing BC2M to their campuses. High schools have BC2M, while middle schools have Hope Squad. 

“They are geared towards addressing mental health and having student peers be the driving force to support other students,” Koch said. 

Both Koch and Taylor stressed that if students are struggling with their mental health, there are many trusted adults on campus that will listen to students. 

“Having students or club members open the conversation about mental health is the beginning of breaking the stigma around mental health,” Koch said. 

The club is ideally going to start having regular meetings during second trimester, where members will participate in activities geared towards mental health awareness.