Within the North Atlanta community, mental health awareness is prominently spread and supported. It is not an issue that is taken lightly. North Atlanta aims to always provide the utmost support and resources for those who may need it and encourages students to not be afraid to reach out for help. Many new opportunities to gain support if you need it have been brought to our community and most recently, an organization called Morgan’s Message has been established at North Atlanta. 

Morgan’s Message is an organization that aims to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health, specifically for student athletes. It was created to honor the memory of student athlete Morgan Rodgers who tragically took her own life. She played Division I lacrosse at Duke University but after suffering a terrible injury to her knee that prevented her from playing for a significant amount of time, she eventually succumbed to the anxiety and depression this injury brought onto her. Her family, friends, and loved ones wanted to make a change within the athletic community and transform their pain into action that could benefit others. 

The topic of suicide hits very close to home for many North Atlanta students as we tragically lost one of our fellow students to suicide in 2019. This is what motivated seniors Chloe Fernandes and Libby Zufi to establish and co-found this chapter of Morgan’s Message at North Atlanta and bring more support to the community. This student was an athlete as well, which is why these students felt more connected to and touched by Morgan’s story and organization. “We want to dedicate this chapter to our beloved teammate to honor him and his accomplishments as a varsity swimmer,” said Zufi. “We hope that through dedicating it to him we can help to eliminate the stigma surrounding student athlete mental health.”

Within the club, founders Fernandes and Zufi strive to provide a safe place for students if they need extra support. They are aiming to ensure that enough comfortable and accessible spaces are available for those in need. They also want to have the opportunity to spread and raise awareness about student athlete mental health. “We have recognized that mental health issues are something members of our community struggle with and we want to help them by providing additional resources to ensure they have an outlet of people to rely on,” said Fernandes.

Organizations like Morgan’s Message are key components of our community as they help keep us strong and support us. It is so important to have these resources readily available to ensure assistance is always easily accessible if we need it.