Club members of Bring Change to Mind, or BC2M, met at lunch today to plan a presentation which they will present at Chapel later this spring focused on starting dialogue about mental illness.

Convent’s chapter of BC2M is part of a larger non-profit by the same name whose mission is to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, according to the organization’s website.

“[Mental illness] is the elephant in the room — no one talks about it because it’s perceived as a sign of weakness, weirdness and incapability,” club member Samantha Stovell said. “History has proven that the way to end stigmas around things are to talk about them, to put them in the open and learn.”

BC2M’s upcoming presentation will follow it’s assembly on February 5 which concentrated on the prevalence of mental illness in the school community.

“We’ll be leading a presentation on what mental illness actually is, mental wellness — how to take care of your soul, mind and body — and the importance of nutrition and exercise,” Stovell said, “as well as sharing personal accounts from members of the club and the community that have struggled from mental illness, which is something scary to do but it’s important in ending the stigma and getting it out in the open.”

Ultimately, the club hopes to educate and dismantle the stigma around mental illness, according to Stovell.

“I hope that we can educate and help people understand that mental illness should not be stigmatized and that it is a completely normal thing that people go through,” club member Ella Beard said.