SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Peace rooms are a space for students to connect with a clinician from Memorial Behavioral Health.
The rooms opened at Springfield High School, Lanphier High School, and Southeast High School in mid-February, and are still works in progress. The goal is for each room to have flexible seating, with couches or beanbag type areas for students to relax.
Passion Hood, the student representative on the District 186 school board, has been leading the project since the start of the school year. She says it's important for mental health to be prioritized for every student.
"Being able to make a space for them where they can just come and sit, or they can come and talk to someone, or do activities, color, just anything that they would like to do to take their mind off what's happening," said Hood. "I feel like that's most important, because not everyone has those resources available to them."
Hood said her passion for the project came from her own struggles with mental health. While she was able to seek care outside of the school, she knows not every student has that chance.
"I really am an advocate for mental health, because I don't want people to go through what I did, I want for them to have an outlet," said Hood. "I did start going into counseling and things like that and that actually helped, so I want people to get that step."
Southeast High School Principal Cody Trigg says he has already seen changes in students visiting the peace room. One of the biggest improvements is removing the stigma surrounding mental health care.
"We're starting to see kids more open to talking about it, and getting supports in getting through struggles," said Trigg. "That's really the first step in getting kids where they need to be, is the being comfortable enough to come and talk to adults."
At Southeast High School, the peace room is right inside the front doors to the buildings. This means they can stop by the peace room before school even starts if they aren't feeling emotionally ready.
Trigg says the partnership with Memorial Behavioral Health means students can connect with therapists they can see even when school is on break or over the summer.
"We understand some of their struggles happen when they're off campus, so we want to make sure that they know they're supported even though they're at home, or its a weekend or its a break," said Trigg.
Hood says the peace rooms in the high schools are a sort of experiment for the district. If they are successful, Hood wants the program to expand to District 186 middle schools as well.
Copyright 2023. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
