MHA-SAVES, or Mental Health Awareness and Students Against Violence Everywhere, is a new club at Porter Ridge High this 2022-23 school year! The idea was developed by its three student leaders: sophomores Claire Kramb, Sadie Castner and Kyndall Knight. They joined forces last year to establish a club that would bring awareness to mental health and violence prevention.
It was a long journey, but the club came to life at the beginning of this year and has successfully created a positive environment and helped students to become more self-aware. There have been several meetings so far that included the following activities: making stress balls, having yoga sessions, making journals and awareness posters, and crafting friendship bracelets. Additionally, the club collaborated with Growing Green, another new club, for Fall Fest 2022 and their room won an award for their games and decorations.
When asked about the importance of the club, MHA-SAVES Leadership responded:
"MHA-SAVES is a mental health awareness and violence prevention club. I was inspired to create MHA-SAVES because I knew PRHS needed a club like this. I wanted to create a healthier and more positive environment at our school." - Claire Kramb, MHA President
"Establishing a club as special as MHA-SAVES is not only an accomplishment for being a club founder as an almost fully female-run club, but it is a tremendous step in the right direction for improving mental health awareness and promoting violence prevention throughout the community. MHA-SAVES is about focusing on mental health awareness and healthy ways to cope and heal, as well as spreading ways to see the signs, know how to help, and encouraging 'See Something, Say Something'." - Kyndall Knight, SAVES Coordinator
“MHA-SAVES is a mental health awareness and violence prevention club. We saw a need for support in the PRHS community and were driven to create a safe space where students can learn how to manage their mental health and spread awareness. We went through the club application process last year by finding an advisor and presenting to the Site-Based committee. MHA stands for Mental Health Awareness and SAVES stands for Students Against Violence Everywhere. We strive to create a welcoming space for everyone and to do a fun, informational activity every meeting. Everyone is welcome to join.” - Sadie Castner, MHA Vice President
Club Advisor and Science teacher Jill Smart had this to say in regard to MHA-SAVES: “One of our students,
Claire Kramb, desired to establish the Mental Health Awareness Club at PRHS. Claire’s vision for the Mental Health Awareness Club was to promote positive mental health and to bring awareness of ways to improve mental health. Sandy Hook Promise's student leadership program is called Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). Its goal is to train and support student leaders so they can help make schools safer and stop different kinds of violence in schools and communities. The school already had a SAVE club whose mission is to empower youth to be the leaders of change. We felt that connecting the Mental Health Awareness Club with the SAVE Club could help us reach a larger group of students and share these ideas with the entire student body. The goal of the MHA-SAVE club is to encourage students to influence their peers in a positive way, resulting in a more caring and connected school community. This club meets every other Monday in G114, with the focus of each meeting rotating between MHA and SAVE. The MHA President is Claire Kramb along with Vice President Sadie Castner, and the SAVE President is Kyndall Knight. The club advisors are Foods teacher Ana Hasty, Guidance Counselor Cassidy Jarrett, and myself.”
To see what MHA-SAVES has been up to and what they’ll continue to do, follow their Instagram: @prhs_mha_saves and listen for announcements about future meetings and events!
Written by Chloe Ripoli-11th grade student
