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By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s nothing more powerful than connecting in a time of need and finding that there is someone else who understands your distress, desperation and feelings.

Will Heininger, former defensive lineman for the University of Michigan football team, found that person in athletic trainer Lenny Navitskis, who noticed him in distress and suspected he needed help.

Kally Fayhee, former U-M swim team captain, found that person in a teammate and good friend. She was struggling with anxiety and an eating disorder, finally breaking down to someone she felt confident confiding in. Fayhee was given an ultimatum by her friend to seek help.

Both made it through the toughest of times with support from coaches, teammates, friends and family. And, perhaps most importantly, they got on the path to recovery by connecting with athletic department counselor Barb Hansen.

They wept in private while trying to tough it out, doing what they were taught as athletes, but found that they were facing an entirely different opponent — one that required more than inner strength to defeat.

And while their quests to wellness came with plenty of trials and tribulations, they got help and stayed the course to understand what was happening in their minds and how to address it.

Now, they are the helping hands, the people other Wolverine student-athletes can reach out to for answers, direction and hope.

Heininger is a driving force behind Athletes Connected, a program designed to remove the stigma attached to mental illnesses while raising awareness and providing solutions. After first sharing his story at the U-M Depression on College Campuses Conference, he left a job in finance in Chicago to become involved with the initiative and is contemplating making it his life’s work.

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By Eddie Diaz

In an effort to combat the widespread stigma associated with mental illness, the University of Michigan has launched Athletes Connected, a project that aims to support student athletes as they deal with mental health issues.

After receiving the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant for funding in March, the U of M assembled a team of faculty from its School of Public Health, Depression Center and Athletic Department, to lead the project.

Daniel Eisenberg, associate professor of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health and Population Studies Center, said he was happy to see the NCAA get involved and help fund the costs for the program.

“I had never thought about the NCAA as a potential source for research funding,” Eisenberg said. “I wasn’t aware that they were looking at this issue and [were] interested in funding projects in this area. It was a nice discovery.”

Athletes Connected has been introduced at the college in the hopes of changing or reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness and to encourage student athletes to seek help for any issues they may be struggling with.

Athletes who feel more comfortable in group settings can seek help among their peers in the drop-in support groups Athletes Connected will offer.

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Read the original story on The Columbia Chronicle:

By Carleigh Turner

There has been much talk about illness on college campuses, and colleges are slowly adjusting to combat these issues. However, there is one sector that needs more attention—student athletes.

In a 2014 survey of approximately 7,000 students from nine colleges and universities, only 10 percent of athletes used mental health services compared to the 30 percent of nonathletic students, according to the Healthy Bodies Study. Within this group, 47 percent agreed that most people think less of someone who received mental health treatment.

In light of these statistics, the NCAA has given the University of Michigan a $50,000 grant so the college can begin to promote its new Athletes Connected program. The program is a collaboration between the university’s Depression Center, School of Public Health and Athletics Department that will work to ensure its athletes are receiving proper mental healthcare. In addition to the U of M grant, the NCAA awarded five $10,000 grants to other universities.

One way the university is getting the message out about Athletes Connected is by uploading videos of prominent student athletes who have dealt with mental illness during their collegiate athletic careers. These videos, directed by William Del Rosario, are a monumental step in the arduous process of addressing and breaking down the negative stigma surrounding mental illness.

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By Virginia Gordan</strong>