BY Jacquelyn V. Gonzalez
The Kinesiology Club will host a health fair Oct. 27 that will focus on suicide.
This event is being held in response to the two deaths that occurred on campus over the past few weeks.
According to Vice President of the Kinesiology Club Ryan Astengo, the fair will feature speakers from the Health Center and the Veterans Center along with East Los Angeles College clubs such as ELAC Students for Political Awareness, National Alliance on Mental Illness and The Association of Future Firefighters.
Resources and information regarding mental health programs offered both on and off campus will also be available at the information table.
“The purpose of this fair is to bring a sense of unity to not only students, but to the entire Husky family,” Astengo said.
Astengo, along with others in ELAC’s health department, believe that students are not made aware of the mental health resources they have available on campus.
“Both our Men’s and Women’s Centers, as well as our Health Center need more exposure. Our counseling and psychology departments need to be put out there,” Astengo said.
The Kinesiology Club’s goal is to make certain that the community and students are aware that there’s always somewhere they can go, no matter what their situation is.
There are suicide prevention crisis lines available to people in various aspects of life. For example, among these crisis lines is The Trevor Project which is available to LGBTQ Youth and can be contacted 24/7 at (866) 488-7386.
Other suicide prevention crisis lines are the Veteran’s Crisis Line, which is available to U.S Vets and can be reached at 1-800-273-8255 and the Trans Lifeline which is available to transgender people nationwide and can be reached at 877-565-8860.
Though this fair is hosted by the Kinesiology Club, Astengo would like to remind students that this is not an event targeting kinesiology students.
The fair will be held in the Men’s Gym (C1) between noon and 2 p.m.
All Elans as well as ELAC clubs are invited and encouraged to participate in the fair and Kinesiology Club meetings that are held Tuesdays at noon, in the same location, Astengo said.
Those interested in participating can contact the Kinesiology Department at elackinclub@gmail.