According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness on Campus, 1 in 5 students deals with a diagnosable mental health illness, but that number is moving closer to 1 in 4 students. Oct. 1 through Oct. 7 is Mental Health Awareness Week, and some mental health groups on campus are doing their part to bring awareness to mental health issues.

NAMI on Campus is holding a week long event called the Bandana Project. People with a green bandana on their backpack are going to have resource cards for people that want to get help or want to help someone get help for a mental health issue. The resource card will list resources on campus and where to find them.

“If you have a green bandana on your backpack it means you’re someone who wants to help end the stigma about mental health, willing to talk and be an advocate for mental health.”  said Leah Beman, president of NAMI on Campus.

According to NAMI Central Iowa, 50 percent of mental health conditions begin by age 14, but people do not need to have a significant event happen for them to have a mental illness.

During this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, be sure to keep an eye out for people with green bandanas, and ask them how to get involved with advocating for mental health or even where to find the resources on campus.