IU’s Crimson CORPS,an organization of about 60 undergraduate students committed to raising awareness of issues relating to mental health and emotional well-being, said it is looking forward to another year of supporting their peers and planning outreach in the University’s community.
Crimson CORPS is a peer-to-peer support program that connects members with students who reach out to talk about mental health problems or anything else they need to talk through with an active and helpful listener.
With several awareness weeks coming up in October and the Out of the Darkness walk for suicide prevention Oct. 6 in Bloomington, Counseling and Psychological Services counselor Molly McKelfresh said Crimson CORPS is busy preparing for these events and more.
McKelfresh said the three main focuses of Crimson CORPS are peer-to-peer support, outreach and advocacy. Crimson CORPS members are separated into task teams that are responsible for planning outreach and advocacy.
McKelfresh is one of the two CAPS staff members designated to train and guide members of the Crimson CORPS along with practicum doctoral students.
[CAPS plans to implement more counseling resources for students | IDS]
Elyssa Klann, a Ph.D. student in counseling psychology, said her role as a Crimson CORPS staff member includes teaching members how to be helpful, how to be an active listener and how to build empathy.
Klann said Crimson CORPS is an important resource for the University’s students to know about because the cost of counseling and the stigma around mental health issues can discourage students from seeking counseling.
“Having a student who is trained in how to listen and how to help and who is knowledgeable about different health topics can be really helpful for students,” Klann said.
Neha Sehgal, a senior studying neuroscience and biology, is one of the task team chairs who said she was inspired to join Crimson CORPS by personal experiences as well as a sociology class that discussed the stigma around mental health issues.
Sehgal said she helps the students she meets with by trying to be a good and non-judgmental listener. Intervening when someone is showing signs they need help rather than being a bystander is something that Crimson CORPS students are committed to.
Sehgal said checking on friends and following up on their well-being is a goal she has for this semester, but she said it is also important that she reaches out to as many people as she can who might be struggling whether she knows them or not.
Sehgal said the desire to help and be a better listener is what makes student members of Crimson CORPS a good fit for the organization.
“Crimson CORPS is for anyone and everyone who can have an open mind to other people’s struggles,” Sehgal said.
Emily Qin, a senior studying sociology and microbiology, said she was inspired to join Crimson Corps because she experienced social anxiety at the beginning of college.
Klann said Crimson CORPS members are encouraged to be proactive and approach strangers who might need help, and Qin said she does this by always keeping an eye on the people around her.
Qin said crying, lateness and slipping grades are a few of the warning signs she looks for in other students.
“On a campus with so many people it’s really easy to feel like you’re alone,” Qin said.
Students interested in connecting with a member of Crimson CORPS are encouraged to reach out by email at ccorps@indiana.edu. All correspondence is confidential.
