The NLine – TheNANProject

The NAN Project’s Winter Wrap-up

By Shilpa Thirukkovalur | December 20, 2021 |

The NAN Project is back in-person and busier than ever this school year! We presented to 1,867 students and 875 staff and community stakeholders across Massachusetts. Schools are already booking us several months into 2022, which shows a clear need for mental health education now more than ever. Click the link to read our full winter wrap-up!

The NAN Project’s End of Year Recap

By Lizzie MacLellan | December 22, 2020 |

End of Year Recap The NAN Project team has been super busy this school year with our Peer Mentor presentations, professional development trainings, and parent presentations. Since the beginning of this school year, we have presented for 16 schools to over 1,350 students and 770 caregivers, parents, and community stakeholders. That’s a total of 2,120…

Presentations to Medford Senior Class

By Lizzie MacLellan | December 22, 2020 |

Each of our partner schools is using a unique blend of in-person and remote learning this year, which means all of our presentations have been adjusted to their scheduless to best accommodate our student audience. This December, we had the opportunity to completely reorganize our typical presentations while working with the senior class of Medford…

My Anxiety and Self Image Got Weird in Quarantine

By Sarah Dickie | November 9, 2020 |

When I was laid off from my receptionist job in March due to COVID-19 (with the promise of unemployment insurance), I was relieved. I had dreamt of shutting myself in, opting out of being perceived, only to venture out for food – and suddenly, when the lockdown began in March, to live like this was public safety. It was recommended. I breathed a sigh of relief – I could take off my carefully curated, public-facing mask for a while.

A Night for NAN 2020

By Lizzie MacLellan | October 29, 2020 |

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, The Nan Project will not be holding our annual fundraising event, A Night for Nan. However, we know the need for suicide prevention and mental health education is more important than ever.

Grief Ripples Out, But So Does Hope

By Sarah Dickie | October 27, 2020 |

Though Suicide: The Ripple Effect engages with some heavy subjects, it is not a somber film. Kevin Hines teaches us that some good can come out of the trauma and tragedy of suicide. We feel the “ripple” of suicide for better and for worse: a whole community grieves one fatal attempt, but one recovery can inspire hope in so many struggling people. The Ripple Effect is an earnest, tender, enlightening watch — and Kevin hopes that it’s the beginning of a movement.

You Are Not Alone: What Local Experts Want You To Know About Suicide

By Sarah Dickie | October 7, 2020 |

Last Friday, The NAN Project Peer Coordinators Lizzie MacLellan and Shilpa Thirukkovalur sat down to speak virtually with Mayor of Cambridge Sumbul Siddiqui about suicide prevention, mental health, and COVID-19.

ED-SAFE: A Study in Suicide Intervention

By Sarah Dickie | September 29, 2020 |

The ED-SAFE study, published in 2018 by the Massachusetts DMH, echoes some truths about suicide prevention that The NAN Project brings to high school classrooms: 1) the first step in suicide prevention is detecting risk; 2) persistence is the key to supporting a person at risk; and, 3) intervention led by the person at risk is most successful.

The Weight of Gold: Athletes and Mental Illness

By Sarah Dickie | September 18, 2020 |

The NAN project knows that in a society where depression and suicide are still heavily stigmatized, fostering honest discussion about mental health can literally save a life. These are sentiments of HBO’s new documentary The Weight of Gold, a must-watch for sports fans and mental health advocates alike.