Brooklyn Riley-Poma enjoys working with kids, hanging out with her parents, and playing sports. She ran for the Little Hawk cross country team last season, and played for the women’s soccer team her freshman year. This year, Riley-Poma’s spring season looked a little different.
“I wasn’t able to play sports this year because I had to leave school for my mental health,” said Riley-Poma.
At the beginning of her junior year, Riley-Poma was in and out of the hospital due to struggles with her mental health.
“My life was just really bad. I didn’t want to do anything. I saw how it affected everyone else and myself, and I was just done with not enjoying living anymore,” Riley-Poma said.
The junior decided she needed to make a change.
“I went to Roger’s Behavior Health in Wisconsin, and it completely changed my life,” Riley-Poma said.
Roger’s Behavior Health specializes in comprehensive mental health treatments for children, teens, and adults. The business has been around for 115 years, when it was founded as a mental-health hospital in 1907.
Riley-Poma spent three months at Roger’s Behavioral Health. Riley-Poma feels her time at Roger’s was quite beneficial.
“It was such a good experience. It’s a great environment, with people there who really care about you. Honestly, it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Riley-Poma said with a smile.
Recently, Riley-Poma celebrated her 17th birthday.
“It was such a huge accomplishment for me. I never thought I’d make it to seventeen, so it’s just cool to celebrate with my friends and know that I did something I didn’t think I could do,” she said.
Now, Riley-Poma wants to advocate for mental health awareness as much as she can, especially for athletes who face these same struggles.
“You should try and be as open and honest as you can if you’re struggling with mental health. Use your resources. I think people are intimidated by 988, but it’s such a great outlet, and they are trained professionals,” Riley-Poma said.
Mental health battles can be difficult, but Riley-Poma is a real life example of why you should never give up.
“Sometimes it feels like you are alone, but there are so many people that are here to help,” Riley-Poma said.
