AUSTIN (KXAN)-- The Hi How Are You Project has been teaching students how to be aware and manage their mental health for seven years. This month the project celebrates Austin's Hi How Are You Day, with a tribute concert to the late Daniel Johnston and creating a safe space to encourage open conversations about well-being. The Hi How Are You Project was created with the intention of educating young people about mental health and well-being. The project was inspired by the late celebrated singer and artist Daniel Johnston. According to Tom Gimbel the co-founder of the project, Johnston battled Manic Depressive Schizophrenia throughout his lifetime. RELATED: Austin coffee shops serving up mental health awareness alongside your morning brew In 2019 shortly after the Hi How Are You Project was brought to fruition, Gimbel and his partner Courtney Blanton spoke with Austin's Mayor Steve Adler about proclaiming Jan. 22 (Johnstone's birthday) as Hi How Are You Day in Austin. A day when Austin and surrounding communities shine a light on mental health. "Hi, how are you couldn't happen in any place other than Austin, Texas. It's such a open and friendly town, and we're so proud that it started there," Gimbel said. UT students celebrate Hi How Are You Day UT students celebrate Hi How Are You Day UT students celebrate Hi How Are You Day Today, the project works with American Campus Community, a group of 22 college student housing companies that teach their resident advisors and councilors how to engage in mental health conversations with residents. "Through that program, through that training, we reach 850,000 college students nationwide every year," Gimbel said. University of Texas Sophomore, Isabelle Flores is an RA at the American Campus Community Callaway House in Austin. Flores said she takes the skills she has learned from the program and uses them to help her residents through their college journeys. RELATED: Hi, How Are You? Day Celebrations Around Austin UT students celebrate Hi How Are You DayHi How Are You Day flier at Callaway houseUT students celebrate Hi How Are You DayAmerican Campus Communities "If something's wrong, we notice that, and we reach out to them. That extra step that it teaches us is what really pushes us to the next level, because then, the residents see that somebody actually cares about them, it builds a stronger community," Flores said. The skills learned from this program can be implemented into many different areas of the students' lives according to Gimbel. "These skills are really transferable to even in what we're going to do in our professional lives and later when going to the work field. This plays a part in being able to talk to your co-workers your boss, being able to empathize," Flores said. This year, the Hi How Are You Project and American Campus Communities are hosting the 2025 Hi How Are You Day at the Paramount Theater on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. The celebration will include a musical performance collaboration between Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham. The seventh annual celebration will be a tribute and call to action to remove the stigma around mental health, according to the Hi How Are You Project. "I love that people are open-minded here, because it just opens us up to so many opportunities. I think that's what makes Austin stronger and more united," Flores said.