Therapy dogs ease finals pressure at East

East High School’s student council kicked off its mental health week with some four-legged, furry support. 

The students welcomed four emotional support dogs to its common area during lunch to help their peers destress before finals. 

“Mondays are hard and having the emotional support dogs here to kind of relieve the stress of the beginning of the week is really helpful,” East student council member Keira said. 

“I am having a really tired day and coming to pet the dogs woke me up and made my day better,” East junior Jaggar said. 

The council used the week to increase awareness about mental health and the resources available for students. They even sold stress balls to help raise funds for Project 4:7, which is a local mental health organization. 

“It’s really important for us to kind of take a step back and breathe and kind of focus on our mental health as well as our grades. This is just to remind people of the importance of looking at yourself and helping yourself first,” another East student council member Summer said. 

Students also hope the week will help lessen the stigma around mental health needs, get the conversation going and provide hope. 

 

“Mental health is so important because so many people struggle with it. It is just a common struggle for so many people and it’s not talked about often enough,” Keira said. 

“If people are more aware of it and less ashamed to talk about it, they’re more likely to get help,” Summer said. 

Check out highlights from the therapy dogs visiting East below. 

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