Students at Pittsburgh-area school have new way to chill out
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some students at a Pittsburgh-area school can take advantage of a new way to chill out.
It's called the "chill room" and is used for relaxation and to improve the mental health of students. It honors the memory of a student who died in a shooting at a North Side Airbnb last year.
Allegheny Intermediate Unit introduced the room on Tuesday as a relaxation space for students at Community School East.
"The chill room is basically an opportunity to regain composure," said Von Pitts, a support staff specalist. "To actually deal with any triggers that they've had, address the needs as far as looking through a lens of mental health."
The room is meant to promote mindfulness while de-escalating behavior that can be caused by issues like trauma.
"We do use a video game, VR in regards to looking through the lenses of the gaming system as to tools and resources to control themselves and to reengage through a positive thought process," Pitts said.
A great-aunt of Matthew Steffy-Ross, one of the teens killed in the Easter Sunday shooting at an Airbnb on the North Side in 2022, is part of the project. She plans to offer support for kids and wishes it was there when her nephew needed a safe place.
"There was not a chill room at that time," she said. "Matthew was full of anxiety, some PTSD, things would get too much for him and he would pace up and down these halls. But there was nothing at that time."
Now, the room honors his memory as a way to help students process their emotions.
"I don't think there's anyone that can know the full depth of what this can mean to a child who walks into the school full of trauma that morning, trauma that's been going for a long time," she said. "And it's a day that they're not OK, and that's OK. It's become OK because there's someplace for you, there's care for you."