Stress Relief Kits Being Handed Out to Middle School, High School Kids this Friday Outside Glenbard South

It’s no secret that this pandemic has side effects, and I’m not talking about headache, nausea, or coughing. I’m talking about the toll the isolation is taking all people, not just kids.

The DuPage County Health Department’s Prevention Leadership Team along with teens from “Reality Illinois” – the teen advisory panel to the DCHD, are handing out stress relief kits for middle and high school students.

The drive-thru event is this Friday from 2:00-4:00 at Glenbard South High School, or until all 250 kits have been handed out. There is no cost.

The purpose of the event is to provide some much-needed stress relief to teens throughout DuPage County safely and conveniently.

Stress kits will contain various stress relief items like stress balls, foam putty, coloring pages, lanyards, information on our crisis text line service and COVID-19 safety kits with hand sanitizer, face mask, info on COVID-19.

The Crisis Text Line is a free texting service available to anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. By texting “REACH” to 741 741, people are connected to a trained professional that will help walk them through a crisis and connect them to ongoing resources. Since the text service became available in DuPage County, in November 2017, there have been 567 texters and over 1000 conversations between teens and young adults and trained counselors.  

Mental health during this pandemic should not be ignored. It should be treated and cared for just as strongly as COVID-19 itself.

If you believe you or someone in your family is having a tough time, read about the signs and how to help.