For students concerned that mental health issues aren't addressed enough on campus, the Michigan Student Assembly is offering a potential solution.

MSA recently formed a new sub-commission of the assembly’s Health Issues Commission focused on mental health awareness. The mental health sub-commission will join other commissions including healthy eating, sexual health and health insurance to provide more resources for students.

“We want to spread awareness about mental health issues on campus and work with the administration to make sure students feel comfortable reaching out and asking for the mental health help that they need,” MSA Vice President Brendan Campbell said.

Though the University already has Counseling and Psychological Services to help students who face mental health issues, MSA wanted to create an intermediary between CAPS and students. This is the role the six-person mental health commission will fill to ensure resources are easily accessible for students, Campbell said.

“While the University does a tremendous job in CAPS, we want to make sure that there is communication between the administrators and students,” he said.

CAPS Director Todd Sevig said he has talked to commission members about ways the two organizations can work together.

“The goal continues to be getting the word out in multiple and creative ways about mental health resources on campus,” Sevig said. “And the second focus area is increasing students’ ability to use the resources.”

LSA senior David Catalan, chair of the new MSA sub-committee, said he joined the Health Issues Commission specifically to advocate for mental health issues awareness. The commission aims to help students understand the gravity of mental health issues including eating disorders, depression, suicide, self-injury and bipolar disorder.

“Our goal is to put the stigma off that is usually associated with having a mental illness,” Catalan said.

To promote awareness of these issues, the commission is planning a variety of programs around campus and hopes to organize leisure and relaxation activities — like bringing therapy dogs to campus — to help students during exam weeks, according to Catalan.

“Last year was a hit when (the dogs) came to the (Shapiro Undergraduate Library), but this year we hope to bring more publicity to the event and expand to North Campus,” he said.

The commission is also in the beginning stages of bringing mental health first aid certification to the University, Catalan said. The 12-hour long program trains people to recognize mental health crises ahead of time. These emergencies include suicide, psychosis and self-injury.

“We want to open this training to anyone that wants it,” Catalan said. “But we want to specifically focus on training at least a few RAs in the residence halls.”

The commission is also trying to collaborate with student groups such as the mental health-focused blog Vitality Press and the University Law School organization Active Minds. Catalan started Vitality Press this summer as a personal project but decided to make it a student organization to gain more support.

LSA sophomore Abby Pilarski, a second blogger for Vitality Press, said she was inspired to join Catalan in his efforts after seeing a family member’s struggle with mental illness.

“I think it is a very important topic to talk about, but also to help people understand that they are able to talk about it,” Pilarski said. “I think people get really scared to voice their opinions on depression and mental health because people have such a stigma about it.”

The sub-commission members are also interested in working with Active Minds, which organizes an exhibit each year to promote mental health awareness. In the exhibit, students place thousands of backpacks around campus to illustrate the number of college students who commit suicide each year.