- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/mental-health-awareness/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Wed, 17 Apr 2019 19:36:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Rak promotes mental health, suicide prevention with inspirational mugs, website /news-archive/2019/04/17/emiliar-rak-change-your-day/ Wed, 17 Apr 2019 19:36:42 +0000 /news/?p=74062 ... Rak promotes mental health, suicide prevention with inspirational mugs, website]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student is promoting mental health awareness with one inspirational smiley-faced mug at a time.聽 Emilia Rak, a junior social work major, knows what it鈥檚 like to live with mental health disorders and the challenges and stigma that can come from people who don鈥檛 understand. 鈥淚鈥檝e struggled with mental health issues for several years, and I would become severely depressed,鈥 Rak said. 鈥淚 had a very good friend, Renee. Her mother passed away a few years ago. She loved coffee, so at her funeral they had a coffee bar. Often, when I was feeling depressed, Renee told me that I had to have a coffee date with her mom in the morning. It was my promise not to harm myself until morning. For many years, my promise to my good friend was the only thing that kept me alive.鈥 Years later, when Rak鈥檚 friend continued to struggle with her mother鈥檚 death, she began making mugs for her friends who needed a boost to their spirits. The mugs, which she makes at The Painted Pig in Little Rock, are hand-painted with bright colors, smiley faces, and inspirational phrases. 鈥淚 just started making mugs and giving them to friends of mine who I thought were having a hard time. I love making presents for people,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hile I was doing this, I was engaged in my own art therapy. The mugs take between 2-6 hours a piece to paint. While I was making mugs, there was no room for dark thoughts or to question my own self-worth.鈥 When Rak received a Signature Experience Award from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock last fall, she was grateful for the opportunity to take her project further. 鈥淧eople gave me feedback that my gift saved them from having a bad day or that this simple gift really had an impact in my life,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he opportunity came up to get the award, and I wanted to really make a difference with the award. I created the website () and started providing content for my website and social media.鈥 Rak was one of more than 100 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students who received a $1,000 grant to conduct original research, creative works, and community service projects this semester as part of the Signature Experience Award program. Her faculty mentor is Dr. David Namir, professor of social work. She will present her research at the Research and Creativity in the Rock event on April 18 in the Jack Stephens Center. Along with her website, Rak began making more mugs with the goal of delivering them to places that promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention. She gave mugs to the Auxiliary to Arkansas State Hospital, Inc. to support their art therapy program, Creative Expressions, as well as the electroconvulsive therapy suite at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Psychiatric Research Institute. She also presented mugs to her classmates in her social work classes and asked them to please 鈥減ay it forward鈥 by either gifting the mug to someone who was struggling or to keep the gift and 鈥減ay it forward鈥 by having a positive, productive day that started with a smile.
Emilia Rak creates these inspirational mugs to raise mental health and for suicide prevention.

Emilia Rak creates these inspirational mugs to raise awareness for mental health issues and suicide prevention.

Rak feels the mugs will especially help people with depression and other mental health disorders as well as people who have suffered a major loss in life. 鈥淲hen you wake up, you feel like you have nothing to keep you motivated,鈥 she said. 鈥淎ll you have to do is look at this mug to make you feel better. People have told me that the mugs make them smile and laugh. It鈥檚 been proven that if you physically smile, you feel better. This is a simple way for me to address a serious health problem.鈥 Rak will continue to provide mugs and is accepting orders from anyone who would like a mug, but she would like to prioritize organizations that promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention. 鈥淚 truly enjoy making people happy,鈥 Rak said. 鈥淭his is something that is simple and effective. I鈥檝e opened a for anyone who would like to donate, and I鈥檇 like to keep doing this for as long as I can.鈥 Rak is on track to graduate in May 2020. She hopes to give back by working as a social worker and eventually an art therapist. 鈥淭his started out as art therapy, and this is why I am enthused about my future career because I know it works,鈥 Rak said. 鈥淚 want to make an impact in any way I can. Who knows? I might be painting mugs until I鈥檓 110 years old.鈥 In the upper right photo,聽Emilia Rak pets her service dog, Rooster The King of the Universe. Photo by Benjamin Krain.]]> The BridgeWay starts scholarship/internship program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/2018/11/01/the-bridgeway-scholarship/ Thu, 01 Nov 2018 13:05:25 +0000 /news/?p=72508 ... The BridgeWay starts scholarship/internship program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock]]> , a mental health and substance abuse facility in North Little Rock, is partnering with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to provide students in the Department of Applied Communication with a unique opportunity to receive a scholarship and gain professional experience at the same time.聽 The BridgeWay will donate $2,500 a year to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to sponsor a scholarship and internship program for applied communication students in the College of Social Sciences and Communication. Beginning in January 2019, one student will be selected per year to receive a $2,500 scholarship and an internship at The Bridgeway. Bruce Trimble, director of business development for The BridgeWay and a passionate advocate for mental health in Arkansas, graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2006 with a Master of Arts in applied communication. 鈥淲hen I graduated, I wanted to do anything to help with the applied communication program because I got so much out of it,鈥 Trimble said. 鈥淭his is another way to honor the program and give students an opportunity for a great scholarship and internship experience.鈥 The students selected for the scholarship will assist Trimble in developing communication strategies and messages targeted at combatting the stigma surrounding mental health and expanding The BridgeWay鈥檚 services. 鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檝e learned over the years is the stigma that surrounds mental health can largely be combatted by communication,鈥 Trimble said. 鈥淭he interns will be assisting with messaging around mental health and helping me identify targets and barriers to expand our services within the state of Arkansas. This internship is a way to give back and expose this area of communication to young leaders.鈥 The BridgeWay provides inpatient mental health services, outpatient care, and counseling to Arkansans. Now celebrating its 35th anniversary, the hospital is the largest freestanding psychiatric facility in the state and serves nearly 5,000 people a year. In 2014, Trimble experienced a paradigm shift when he realized that Arkansas was a leading state for suicide. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed Trimble to the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Council. This involved building connections to hospitals and treatment centers, challenging the stigma associated with mental health, and educating the populace about resources in the state, particularly for people who are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide. Trimble has also been instrumental in establishing a call center in Arkansas for the Suicide Prevention Hotline, which opened in December 2017. 聽 鈥淪tatistically, Arkansas is eleventh in the nation for suicides, and that is definitely something we could reduce if more people got help,鈥 Trimble said. 鈥淓very day is a wakeup call. Each number is a person, and we need to reverse that trend.鈥 Trimble received the 2018 Alumni Making a Difference Award, which recognizes 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumni for being instrumental in their community to foster the co-creation of better social worlds through positive communication. Receiving the award was a highlight for Trimble, who was happy to share the experience with his proud father, 90-year-old Robert Trimble. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Applied Communication which helps connect community businesses, nonprofits, and alumni with the university. Trimble is one of the featured speakers in the 2018-19 Leadership Lecture Series. On Nov. 1, he will deliver his lecture, 鈥淟anguage Matters: Our Role in Destigmatizing Mental Health Issues.鈥 In the upper right photo,聽Bruce Trimble (left) celebrates with his father, Robert Trimble, after receiving the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock 2018 Alumni Making a Difference Award.]]>