Voice of the Students is a mental health awareness club founded in 2022 following the suicides of several students in Brevard. With around 40 members, the club strives to break the stigma around mental health and build a community within our school.
“It was important to me to be a part of something that helped increase the sense of belonging in high school,” said Charlotte Shackleford, one of the managers of VOS. “So that students didn’t feel alone.”
Since 2022, the club has grown from a small school-wide meeting group to a community of like-minded people. Communitywide VOS meets separately from school at the TC Strong Loft every Thursday.
“Voice of the Students, on a whole, is all student led,” Charlotte said. “Which means that the adults that are there are just there to facilitate the ideas that the students come up with. So a night at Communitywide VOS could be a Hawaiian luau cookout. It could be a movie night; it could be a soccer game. It really just depends on what the students plan for that week.”
Georgia Gerring, a senior, is another member of VOS. She volunteers for almost all of the club’s events and activities.
“I actively participate in VOS because it promotes a healthy environment for students to be in,” she said. “Personally, it brings me a lot of joy to see that I’m helping others.”
Voice of the Students has an important main goal – to bring people together. The club aims to accomplish this and so much more through fundraisers, meetings and other gatherings.
“My favorite part about VOS is being able to spend time with my friends and do fun activities that benefit the community,” said Hannah Wallace. “People who are kind and people who care about making a difference should definitely join this club.”
By Harper Dahl
