Mindversity members create valentines cards during their “Hearts and Crafts” event, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Mindversity is a national organization that strives to facilitate access to mental health awareness and aid to black, indigenous and people of color on college campuses. Established in 2020, UH’s Mindversity chapter is making efforts to connect students to mental health resources through community events.
Engineering senior Christian Gonzalez is working alongside Mindversity Co-Presidents psychology senior Sarah Semmel and public health junior Prachi Upreti to establish the program.
Gonzalez explained that the ultimate goal is to create a safe space where students can connect with others who have similar experiences, allowing them to express themselves without judgment from a peer while also making friends.
“The idea is to match students with others who might be going through similar experiences,” Gonzalez said. “The big thing is people want to be heard sometimes and I don’t think that there are enough outlets for that. A lot of the outlets that are present are a little bit too specific, and they might not cater to as many identities as possible.”
Through events like Hearts and Arts and initiatives like Companion’s Corner, Mindversity aims to foster a supportive community where students can prioritize mental well-being, connect with others and embrace self-care.
“The organization strives to spread more awareness about the resources on campus and create a safe space and community for students to come make friends and learn how to take care of themselves, their own mental health, and recognize the signs in others as well,” said Upreti.
The Hearts and Arts event was focused on making Valentine’s Day Cards for oneself in an effort to foster a sense of internal security and to reinforce self love and engage in efforts to create peace for each individual, a common theme in many of their events.
“Depending on the person it can be seen as a self-care practice because it’s like taking your mind off your current issues. You’re just taking a break and just doing something like making a cutout,” said Upreti.
The activity also highlighted making a letter or just listing the things students love about themselves to remind them of self love.
Some people shy away from Valentine’s Day if they’re not in a relationship, but this event aimed to change the narrative surrounding the holiday from being a couples only event to a celebration of love.
“A lot of times, if you’re not in a relationship, people are like, ‘I don’t want to do Valentine’s Day,'” said physics major Anabell Leon. “But I feel like Valentine’s Day is just love in general, and this event is good at helping shift that image. It doesn’t have to be about being in a relationship. It’s just love—love for your friends, love for yourself. And I feel like the message is: love yourself.”
Mindversity prides itself on inclusivity, requiring no membership fees or stipulations while actively working to spread its message and increase event participation.
The event also helped promote some interesting self-care activities such as journaling, screaming into the abyss and sitting in silence.
“[The event is] a good reminder about self-care,” psychology senior Timmy Dyo-Esho said. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything related to self-help today, but once I got to the event, I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I should probably do something positive for myself. I am learning some good tips from you guys.'”
Mindversity also has plans for the upcoming semester, including a Student Outreach program called Companion’s Corner.
