Each year at LHS Mrs. Pontius, the high school art teacher, puts on a mental health poster assignment. Mrs. P requires the assignment for her graphic design students, but gives the option to all of her students. The posters that people don’t feel confident enough to put in the contest get hung up in the High School halls. The posters that are submitted to the contest are hung at the movie theater throughout the free movie provided by the Larned State Hospital. At the end of the movie they have about a five minute long break to select the three High School and three Middle School students their rewards.

Mrs. P is one of the many teachers at LHS that cares about the students mental health. Mrs. P stated “I think it’s an important subject to talk about with students. Hopefully the more we talk about mental health, the more we recognize that getting help is okay.” Larned State Hospital provides the requirements and theme for the posters. Out of all the posters, Larned was the only school district that had students involved in mental health awareness. Each winner of the top three posters gets a cash prize.

One in every five US adults have lived with a mental illness in their life. In 2022 more than 49,000 people lost their battle to mental health. Many institutions around the US don’t provide mental health days for workers. Many do not want to take the time of a sick day when you are struggling mentally, and not physically sick. If support and awareness is not provided at the company many will end up overworking themselves too scared to take a day alone. Here’s a friendly reminder that mental health is important.