Bear River’s very own Wellness Center opens for the first time this fall.
Not officially opened since it was built several years ago, The Wellness Center is set to welcome visitors on Oct. 23, the first Monday after fall break. The following week’s hours of operation will be posted every Friday.
The center is located right next to the College and Career Center in the A wing. Despite not having been officially opened previously, the Wellness Center was used last year for a mindfulness relaxation and stretching session during FLEX, where students could come in to destress and release unwanted tension.
“We can get really stressed out, there’s a lot of things that are going on in our lives, there could be struggles in class, in friend groups, with parents, and relationships,” says Leslie Bauman, NJUHSD’s mental health therapist and the coordinator of the Wellness Center. “Having a place to come and let all that go for 45 minutes was what we started using the Wellness Center for. Once we open, the Wellness Center is going to be a place for students who need to come in for a brief reset.”
Inside the Wellness Center, students can play games, work on puzzles, visit the virtual calming room, color, talk to a trusted staff member, problem solve, or obtain further resources for mental health. Meant to be a place that welcomes everyone, anyone on campus can come in and use its resources, not just students.
“It’s a great place to come and chill for a little while, and if you need some support that’s why I’m there,” says Bauman.
If extra support is required beyond the Wellness Center, Bauman also provides one-on-one, confidential and free therapy through the STARS program. Don’t hesitate to contact her and schedule an appointment.
Bear River also has a Bring Change to Mind club, which Bauman advises.
“The club is on-campus, bringing awareness about mental health issues because one in four students will have some sort of mental health issue during their time in high school,” Bauman said. “Sometimes there’s still some stigma about saying ‘Hey, I have a problem.’ The more students know that other people have similar issues, the more likely they are to seek support.”
As for future plans for the Wellness Center, Bauman wants to start a peer support group, which is a group of students interested in providing mental health services for their fellow students.
Likewise, staff from Communities Beyond Violence come in on Wednesdays to discuss healthy relationships: what they are, how to identify them and how to facilitate and grow them “which could be really beneficial, especially for students who may have experienced faulty parenting,” says Bauman.
Students can access the Wellness Center through a class-to-class pass generated by their teachers. Students walk into the room, sign in on the Chromebook and take a brief reset of 15-30 minutes. The Wellness Center is meant to be a place where students can rest and refocus, to get back to their classes more equipped to learn. It is not meant to be a place where students come to avoid school, hang out with friends or waste time.