Donors support students with mental health scholarships

When Terence O. Hayes Sr. was 11 years old, he lost his mother, Ethel, to suicide. She was 29 years old.

Decades later, Hayes, now 60 and a pastor in Dayton, Ohio, is honoring his mother’s legacy with a scholarship specifically designated for students with mental health issues. Because mental health was not well understood or openly discussed in the black community when he was younger, he suppressed his own feelings, he said, leading to mental health problems later as an adult.

“I wanted to do something so my mom’s name wouldn’t be forgotten,” said Hayes, who has a doctorate in education. “I didn’t want another kid to go through what I went through. When I say that, I mean not getting help and not seeking advice… There is so much stigma around advice and seeking help, and I want to remove that stigma.”

the Ethel Hayes De-stigmatizing Mental Health Scholarship is open to all students who have personally faced mental health challenges or seen a loved one struggle with them. To apply for the scholarship, students must write a short essay about how their mental health journey has impacted their beliefs, relationships, and aspirations. Applications close in June, and Hayes will announce the winners on July 13, her mother’s birthday.

Last year, Hayes awarded the scholarship to two students, each of whom received about $3,500, said Dror Liebenthal, co-founder and CEO of Bold.org, a website that receives scholarships from a variety of donors, including Hayes. For this year’s scholarship, Hayes is fundraising with a goal of raising $10,000, enough for four or five scholarships. So far, she has raised more than $6,500.

“I think it’s a great example of a donor who really cares about this issue in a deep way,” Liebenthal said. “We love Dr. Hayes; he is one of our most prominent donors.”

One of last year’s winners, Abena Bonsu, wrote about learning about the vast disparities in health care, including mental health care, in a science enrichment program for high school students at Harvard Medical School.

“She was talking about how she served the church and how community is so important when people are going through hardships, so they don’t feel isolated or alone,” Hayes said. “For being so young, she touched my heart.”

Hayes isn’t the only donor using scholarships to create opportunities for students who have been affected in some way by mental illness. In recent years, such scholarships have proliferated, just as they have for a wide range of ailments and disabilities, even Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While some mental health scholarships cover a wide range of conditions, others are designated for students struggling with a specific illness, such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder.

“While these scholarships have been available for many years, the number of scholarships available has skyrocketed, primarily in recognition of the fact that more and more students are struggling and need additional support,” said Jennifer Finetti, director of advocacy and divulgation. at ScholarshipOwl, an online platform that offers scholarships.

Scholarships vary in eligibility and criteria. Some, including the Quell Foundation Combat Scholarshipthey are only for students who are currently being treated for a diagnosed mental health condition. Others they do not require a medical diagnosis, but ask students to write an essay about their own mental health struggles. Yet others they are dedicated to students who have dealt with a loved one, such as a parent or sibling, who has suffered from mental illness.

Finetti said ScholarshipOwl currently offers about a dozen mental health scholarships, though the number fluctuates; some are recurring, offered two to four times a year. One asks applicants to write a personal essay on how they have been affected by cyber bullyingand others require students to describe their experience with substance use disorders. There is also a scholarship dedicated to students. study mental health careFinetti said.

Will Geiger, co-founder and CEO of Scholarships360another scholarship website said that the conversation about mental illness in admissions and scholarships has changed a lot since he was an admissions officer at Kenyon College seven years ago.

“I think there was a perception that being vulnerable or sharing your struggles in the admissions process would ‘hurt’ your chances of gaining admissions or scholarship opportunities and it was quite rare for students to talk about these struggles,” Geiger wrote in an email. . . “Students think they need to be ‘perfect’ or just show off their achievements and I think with the help of more scholarships and awareness this is changing.”

Geiger said that web traffic for mental health scholarships this year is more than double what it was last year at this time; Currently, there are at least 10 posted on his site. Their availability shows students that admissions and scholarship selection committees don’t look down on them because of their challenges, she said.

“We think it’s important to show students struggling with mental health-related issues that there are scholarship organizations and scholarship donors out there to help and support them,” Geiger wrote. “Also, this shows students that there are other students who may also be struggling with mental health-related issues and helps them feel less alone.”

Such scholarships can be particularly helpful because students with mental health needs may face unique financial barriers when attending college, said Leigh Anne White, an assistant professor of human medicine at Michigan State University and president of the National Alliance on Mental Health. of Higher Education.

Students with mental illness or their families can incur high costs for things like therapy, doctor’s appointments, lab tests and medications, he said. Some students with mental illness may not be able to work during college, which would provide them with extra money. And even those with comprehensive insurance coverage may be reluctant to use their plans because of the persistent stigma of mental illness, White said.

The influx of scholarships associated with mental health helps reduce stigma, which in turn encourages more people to donate and seek financial help for that purpose. Most mental health scholarships come from families affected by mental illness, including many who have lost a child to suicide.

“Mental health scholarships send the message that we value people who have a mental health disability, we want them to be successful in college, and we recognize some of the added hardships,” White said.