Cal State Long Beach will have its first “Live Your Life” fair Wednesday to promote awareness of physical disabilities and mental health on campus.
The event, hosted by ASI, Project On-Campus Emergency Assistance Network (OCEAN), and Counseling and Psychological Services.
The key speaker, Jesse Billauer, will speak from 2-3:30 p.m. about what it is like living a fulfilling life despite difficult circumstances. When a surfing accident left him a quadriplegic with partial use of his arms, Billauer founded the Life Rolls On Foundation.
As a division of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Life Rolls On motivates people with spinal cord injuries “with the inspirational message of achievement in the face of extreme adversity,” according to its Web site. The foundation states that it motivates its members to engage in action sports despite their paralysis.
Billauer said he enjoys activities such as skydiving, cage swimming with sharks and surfboarding with a custom built surfboard that he can ride on his stomach.
“My foundation is about giving hope to people … to open up minds so that they can see things in a different way,” Billauer said.
Project OCEAN was created as part of the application for the Garret Lee Smith suicide prevention grant, which was received from the university last year.
According to Rick Mogil, program coordinator of Survivors After Suicide at Didi Hirsch, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 18-24.
Project OCEAN believes catching depression early can make it much easier to prevent young people from taking their own lives.
“The best thing to do is catch people earlier,” Ocean Project Coordinator Carolyn O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe says that an important part of suicide prevention is looking at a person’s mental and physical health, not just their individual symptoms.
“We’re moving toward looking at people as whole individuals,” O’Keefe said.
The club sports and recreation department is also taking part in the event, and emphasizes de-stigmatizing mental illnesses so that people can talk about what they are going through without feeling embarrassed.
“[N]ow it’s in the open and people can talk about it,” said administrative assistant of club sports Pam Rayburn.
Fair activities will include yoga, pilates and back massages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Friendship Walk and Southwest Terrace. Forty on-and off-campus vendors will be distributing free healthy-living materials.
Active Minds, Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, a community mental health care provider, and CSULB Veteran Affairs Services representatives will be at the event.
The band Nico Adams will play music from noon to 1 p.m.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for comments made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for comments made on this Web site. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech.
