Posted: March 11, 2015 | Written by Austin McVey

Riverside City College students took Club Rush by storm March 3 and 4.

Active Minds was seen promoting their club and showing students what it means to talk openly about mental health.

With 426 chapters in the United States and Canada, RCC’s Active Minds is among the 93 school chapters that have been given 5-star chapter status, the highest rating a chapter can earn.

Their aim is to inform college students about mental health issues. Topics such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and even suicide.

Karina Figueroa, vice president of Active Minds, brought a service dog to serve as an ambassador of puppy therapy during the 2014 Fall semester.

“You’re not alone. No one is ever alone,” Figueroa said. “It’s a group that reaches out to people to let them know that we are here.”

Tensions are high at the start of a new semester. Students deal with a variety of issues including book rentals, financial aid disbursements, and the struggle to find parking. As a result, stress is highly prevalent among students.

Suicide claims the lives of more than 1,100 college students each year and Send Silence Packing, a traveling exhibition that collaborated with RCC’s Active Minds in 2013, helps raise awareness for those lives lost.

Students are encouraged by Active Minds to engage in conversations that can help impact those who are in need of help.

According to Figueroa, Active Minds has planned workshops for Mental Health Awareness on April 7, 8 and 9.