In recognition of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, MSJC’s mental health club, Active Minds, put on an event to raise awareness, ease students’ stress, and start the conversation on mental health. Located at the Menifee campus on May 7th, “Canvas and Chamomile” was hosted from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. As an event created only to paint, drink chamomile tea, and talk with other students, the atmosphere was calming and fun as students painted and talked about mental health.

With canvases, paint brushes, water cups, and an assortment of different colors of paint available, you could let your imagination soar by creating anything you desire. From photorealistic portraits to psychedelic scenes, your creation was up to you. While painting, participants were encouraged to socialize with the other painters about anything they so desired, mental health being a big one.

To complement the judgment-free artistic atmosphere, a table set with chamomile tea, sugar, and cookies was provided. Next to that was a table offering free mental health stickers and MSJC t-shirts. The stickers had positive words like “therapy is cool” or butterflies with a semicolon as the body. All in an effort to end the negative stigma associated with mental illness.

“We wanted students to talk about mental health or any other topics to de-stress as it gets closer to finals. The goal for our previous Active Minds speaker events have been to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of not being able to talk to one another about important mental health topics. We were really excited to create and host this canvas and chamomile event, which had a great turnout, more than we expected! It felt like our club members and students had that designated time to de-stress, get creative, and be there for one another”                      Active Minds President Laila Akberzie

With a very friendly group of people, free calming tea with cookies, cool stickers, and an overall peaceful environment, it’s a great way to kick off National Mental Health Awareness Month.