Over the course of the past few weeks, senior Gianna Chiaravalloti and junior Mark Havel have been working to establish the newest support line for students at Hills. Their passion project, dubbed Peers With Ears, aims to connect and support students in need of advice. While they are not providing baseline therapy, Havel and Chiaravalloti are passionate about mental health and are determined to help students navigate high school life. The two founders kindly agreed to answer some questions about Peers With Ears and how they expect it will be run. Below is a transcript of how they responded:
Q: Where did you come up with the idea of a student-run support line?
A: “The idea of a student-run support line was something that kind of just happened. One day I had just suggested to Gianna that we should try something out, and we both took the idea and went super far with it, up to us now even having ourselves almost up and going! It just goes to show that no idea is really a bad one, and you can get something done even with something that seems far-out or ridiculous at first.”
Q: What do you hope students will get out of Peers With Ears?
A: “We hope that students will have an outlet to make themselves feel even more ready and confident inside of an unfamiliar environment. On top of that, we want to offer a way for students in need to reach out without fear of judgement or scrutiny. The environment of our high school is extremely important, fostering an environment where more people feel safe and comfortable is a surefire way to make everyone more lively and secure. We want everyone to feel welcome and heard.”
Q: Where can we expect to see Peers With Ears around the school?
A: “You can expect Peers With Ears to be around some popular areas! Although we don’t exactly have a perfect idea of where the boxes are going to be, you can expect them to be in locations that would commonly have a lot of traffic (for instance, senior commons, lunch room, library, popular hallway areas, and things of that variety). Even though it isn’t crystal clear where we’re going to put them, just know you won’t have to look far.”
Students should also keep an eye out for the newest installation in Drumbeats: a Peers With Ears support column! This exciting development should come to fruition within the next few weeks. High school is a rocky period of time to endure for everyone at different points, but resources like Peers With Ears help make the experience a little less painful.
