Community Forum Addresses Mental Illness
Each year, students and faculty discuss a topic concerning diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice during the Community Forum (CF). The CF developed from students’ interests in having informed, candid conversations on issues...
...and has become an important part of how we interact and grow as a community. The purpose of the CF is to ensure that Crystal is a place where all members of the community thrive, feel comfortable and are valued.
This year’s CF was special in that we invited parents to be part of the conversation for the first time, and included panels of students and teachers speaking from the heart about their personal experiences with mental illness. The CF provided a safe place space to explore the way mental health impacts our daily lives. “Brave, intense, important, life changing,” were a few of the many words used to describe what we heard from the panelists who taught us so much, including how the stigma surrounding mental illness affects them as well as how best to support a friend or loved one who suffers from a mental illness.