In an effort to brighten someone’s day, the Aevidum group at Pleasant Valley High School chalked their messages of hope and inspiration on the school’s sidewalks.

The colorful messages were scribed at the entrance by the student parking. Last fall, the messages encompassed the school entrance from the buses.

Freshman Kara Miller hopes their sidewalk inspirations help.

“I think people are going to look at them and realize they aren’t alone,” she said.

Club adviser Michele Connors said the activity was one of many planned for May, which is Mental Health Awareness month. The club plans to do outdoor mindful yoga next week, and already did Taco Bout Mental Health, Green Shirt Day on Friday, and sent messages of support to anyone they thought could use a kind word.

“Just one hello and it acknowledges their presence,” she said. “It can turn their day around.”

Aevidum was started by students, teachers and administration in 2003 at Cocalico High School in Lancaster County after a student died by suicide. The word comes from Latin roots meaning “I’ve got your back.” Today, it has grown to be a national organization.

At PVHS, the club is only a couple years old, but like at Cocalico, it began after the tragic loss of two people, Connors said.

According to statistics she found through the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health America, 20% of teens between the ages of 13 and 18 live with a mental health condition. These health problems go untreated in 75% of youths. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent condition in the United States.

Young Nam, a junior at PVHS, said it’s been a tough year. Some students have struggled and it has taken a toll on their grades.

“I’ve always liked listening to people and their troubles,” Nam said.

Freshman Kara Miller thinks learning about mental health is interesting and is considering it as a career choice.

“I’m here to help others,” she said. “You never know.”

Connors said students recently wrote messages of hope inside a giant semicolon in the school. The punctuation mark has grown to become a symbol for mental health issues like depression, because it connects two sentences. Like its use as a punctuation mark as the stop of a sentence but not the end, depression and suicidal thoughts don’t have to be the end of a person’s life, just a part of the whole. Life can be difficult, but it won’t always be that way.