The National Alliance on Mental Illness on Marshall and Herd of Love are two student organizations with the same purpose. By gathering attention and showing others that they are not alone, they hope to help destigmatize mental illnesses and physical disabilities.

NAMI is “the nation’s leading voice on mental health,” according to its official website. Alynna Howard, a first-year student, is the president of the newly-formed NAMI on Marshall, and is passionate about the fight to bring mental illness issues to the public eye.

“Our goal is to make Huntington more accepting and welcoming of those with mental illnesses,” Howard said. “In the media, mental illnesses are made to look scary and threatening, but in real life, people are able to live life normally.”

Howard has established a meeting place at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in Harris Hall 102.

“I want to show others that even though people with mental illnesses are different, they can still do the same things [as people without them],” Howard said. “I want to make sure that those people know that they are never alone and that they have someone willing to listen to them.”

Herd of Love is another new organization with a particular focus on students with physical disabilities. It was started by Kayla Saintagne, a first-year student and native of Miami, Florida. The lack of disability awareness on Marshall’s campus has driven her to action and has given her three goals.

“Awareness, fundraising and building a relationship,” Saintagne said. “I have been in class with several students who have had hearing disabilities, or some other disabilities, but they’re still in college, and that is cool to me.”

Her inspiration comes partially from a friend’s personal struggle.

“My friend was a victim to gun violence. He doesn’t know who shot him, and now he is paralyzed from the waist down,” Saintagne said.

Saintagne was president of a similar club during high school, and she has brought that same passion for helping others to Marshall.

“I don’t want it to just be on the Marshall University campus, I want it to spread,” Saintagne said. “I want it to grow into Huntington, then West Virginia, and eventually the world.”

Wyatt Hunt can be contacted at [email protected].