Oceanside students represent mental health awareness at NY Islander’s game

Members of the Oceanside High School Sources of Strength club were part of a contingent standing up for mental health awareness at a New York Islander’s game on Jan. 9.

The Islanders have been sponsoring Mental Health Nights at their games recently. The students and their advisor Josephine Prestigiacomo, an OHS science teacher, were invited by the Ryan Patrick O’Shea Foundation, a local organization which provides grants to help high schools launch their own Sources of Strength clubs.

Sources of Strength is a youth mental health promotion and suicide prevention program that recruits students from a wide range of different social groups to spread messages of hope, help, and strength, initiate activities that build a sense of belonging in their school community, and create healthy norms and culture.

By identifying and strengthening their sources of support, young people can develop their capacity to weather adversity.