The H.O.P.E. Council, a BYU-Idaho mental health group, will host speakers at its “Hope is Possible” event in the Hyrum Manwaring Center’s Little Theater at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Aubrey Hess, one of the group’s leads, said the group’s goal is to help the students of BYU-Idaho reach their potential. She said H.O.P.E. is an acronym surrounding mental health. H stands for Healing, O for Outreach, P for Prevention and E for Education.
“We’re kind of the mental health hub to help students know of what is available on campus and what resources they could be utilizing to help their mental health and kind of reach that potential within themselves,” Hess said.
Karli Hansen, the group’s event coordinator, said the council wants students to know they are not alone and that everyone struggles with mental health.
“Everybody has mental health problems and that’s what I think is one of the messages of H.O.P.E. Council overall is that every single person has their own challenges,” Hansen said. “There’s not one person or one type of person that doesn’t have these problems.”
Ava Nelson, the group’s other lead, said being part of H.O.P.E. Council has not just been rewarding, but has also helped her meet new people and make new friends.
“I have met so many amazing people that are going through some of the same things that I’m going through and it’s nice to kind of talk about that,” Nelson said. “It makes me feel like I’m not alone and we’re doing something together to try and achieve a goal of raising awareness and mental health.”
For more information on the H.O.P.E. Council and this event, visit I-Belongand the H.O.P.E. Council website.
To listen to the full interview with the H.O.P.E Council, you can visit BYU-Idaho Radio's Podcast on Spotify or Soundcloud.