ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The notion around mental health has specific stigmas associated within the awareness movement coupled with the alarming rate of depression and anxiety plaguing students on college campuses around the nation. However, in the In collaboration with the Department of Student Affairs and ECSU Counseling Services, the Elizabeth City State Department of Athletics held a fireside chat session with over 250 student athletes on Wednesday night in the K.E. White Center with guest speaker Fonda Bryant.
Bryant just stepped down from serving two terms on the state board of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) She is also started her own nonprofit Wellness Action Recovery, Inc., and a podcast Wellness Action Recovery, "The W.A.R. Podcast. She is a Certified QPR (Question Persuade Refer) Suicide Prevention Instructor and has trained thousands of people from all over the world online and in person on how to save a life, Mental Health First Aid Instructor for Youth, and an NC Certified Peer Support.
She recently has been awarded, the 2021 Remarkable Woman of Charlotte and 2021 Nexstar's National Remarkable Woman for her work with mental health and suicide prevention out of 10,000 remarkable women across the country, 2021 Black Mental Health Symposium Mental Health Advocate of The Year, NAMI NC Advocate of the Year 2020, the MHA of Central Carolinas Outstanding Advocacy Volunteer Award 2019, the CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Advocate of the Year Award from CMPD in 2019, and in 2018, she was named, by the Charlotte Observer's Charlotte Five as one of six women building the Charlotte Community. Recently, Fonda did a national interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, MSNBC and was in the national documentary on Facing Suicide which aired on PBS. She has gotten parking decks across the Charlotte area to put up her Suicide Prevention signs to stop suicide and hopes the movement will spread across the US. She has been featured for Suicide Prevention signs in the Washington Post and the Boston Herald and People of Charlotte Community Magazine. Her QPR Suicide Prevention Training has been featured nationally on MSNBC, PBS, and Essence Magazine.
"It's imperative we do this", says Athletic Director James Dubose, " In order to truly support our champions, we have to make a priority for their well-being; that starts in the mind. We do not just want to preach competition, we want to ensure that our students are taken care of wholistically and have the support they need to excel on and off the court"
"This is very warming and exciting to be able start these discussions and give students the opportunity to express themselves; this allows us as administrators and coaches to foster an environment that promotes health mind and body practices", adds Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Lataya Hilliard-Gray, "This is just the beginning and we are committed to the wealth of work ahead to enhance the student-athlete experience - an experience that must be paramount and protected at all costs".
