For students looking for self-care strategies and products — look no further. On March 10, the Healthy, Optimistic, Mindfulness, Education, Stability (H.O.M.E.S) organization is presenting “Prepare Self-Care with H.O.M.E.S.,” which will run from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Oakland Center (OC’s) Lake Huron room.

Students will be able to make their own self-care products such as face masks, lip scrubs, essential oils and hand lotion.

President of H.O.M.E.S, Meghan Savel, says this event is intended to be a safe space, allowing for attendees to talk and make things together. They will also be taking home the self-care products.

According to their GrizzOrgs page, H.O.M.E.S. “advocates a balance between body, mind and social aspects of life. [They] focus on educating students on-campus about common mental health stigmas, stress management, food and exercise. H.O.M.E.S. works with students to connect them to resources on and off-campus that will benefit their overall health.”

“Our purpose is to make everyone feel welcome on campus,” said Vice President of H.O.M.E.S. Hannah Brendle. “I think we have a diverse group of people, and it’s just a safe space to talk about topics that aren’t normally talked about.”

Brendle said the upcoming “Prepare Self-Care with H.O.M.E.S.” event aims to reduce stress. The organization wants to promote self-care and provide students with the materials and space to do it.

“This [event] is just kind of a destresser,” Brendle said. “We want to promote self-care a lot, but this way, we can provide people with the materials they need and a safe space to do it with friends — just to make sure they’re getting their self-care.”

Savel emphasized the importance of self-care and watching out for your mental health.

“I think self-care is very important, especially to take care of your mental health,” Savel said. “It goes kind of hand in hand. We always tell our members once a week, just have a self-care day, pamper yourself, take a bath, a face mask, light a candle. It’s very important to do self-care to improve your mental health.”

H.O.M.E.S hopes to end the stigma surrounding mental health, as Savel mentions. Additionally, since many people who participate in H.O.M.E.S are underclassmen, they get the chance to make new friends.

“We stand for, you know, ending the stigma around mental health,” Savel said. “A lot of people that come to H.O.M.E.S. are freshmen or sophomores, and they didn’t get the full OU experience last year. So, they didn’t have the opportunity to make friends or have a friend group like that. A lot of our members are making new friends, and that’s another big part of self-care.”

Brendle had a similar sentiment, citing the community cultivated within the organization.

“I feel like every time a new person comes, we all just get along so well. It’s just a very chill, chatty group. Attendees at this event specifically can gain different ways to destress, relax and make time for self-care and ways to do it,” Brendle said.

H.O.M.E.S. meets on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Kresge Library. For more information on H.O.M.E.S and their future events, visit GrizzOrgs or email [email protected].