ACMHI Year 3: Student Mental Health Students supporting mentally healthy campuses in Alberta
35 – 9912 106 Street Edmonton, AB T5K 1C5
jessica@albertastudents.ca www.campuswellness.ca
ACMHI YEAR THREE: Fall Roll-Out Alberta Campus Mental Health Innovation (ACMHI) is launching its final year of funding, with diverse and comprehensive projects across the province. Thanks to funding from Alberta Health, ACMHI is supporting 14 student-led initiatives that range from peer support, mental health promotion, stress reduction, and more. Students’ Associations (SA) so far received over $480,000 to support the mental wellness of over 100,000 students across Alberta, with more funds being released this winter. Some highlights of student projects are shared here: • • • • • •
Artist in Residence program Plant growing competitions Addressing the “Elephant in the Room”’ via campaigns Pedometer challenges Peer Support Centres Mental Health Fairs
•
• •
Campaigns promoting self-care & stigma reduction – “All You Need is Love” Mental Health First Aid Training sessions Wellness Wednesdays
From fall of 2013 to spring of 2015, over $900,000 has been awarded to post-secondary SAs, reaching over 136,000 students (see Table 1). ACMHI initiatives have launched over 350 classes & workshops promoting wellbeing. Support on campuses has grown with over 500 defined supporters, including staff and faculty. T ABLE 1 – Y EAR 1 & 2 IMPACT S UMMARY
Total
Students Awareness Reached Campaigns 136,485
161
Peer Supports & Events
38
Stress Online Reduction Resources Events
53
260
Classes, Workshop, Support Groups
197
Community and Campus Stakeholders
268
This year students are hosting initiatives that speak to their student-body, and address the specific needs on each campus. Table 2, found below, summarizes the majority of initiatives students are working on this year. T ABLE 2 – Y EAR 3 P ROGRAM S UMMARY
ACMHI Program Summary Awareness Campaigns
Stress Reduction Events
KSA
P
P
NAITSA
P
P
SAMHC
P
P
ACADSA
P
P
P
CSA
P
P
P
SAGPRC
P
P
SAITSA
P
P
SANQC
P
P
SARDC
P
P
SAOC
P
P
SABVC
P
P
SAKC
P
P
LCSA
P
P
SANLC
Online Resources
Peer Supports
Workshops
Campus & Community Partners
Other
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P P
TABLE OF CONTENTS THE KING’S UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION TKUSA
5
NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NAITSA 5 STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF MEDICINE HAT COLLEGE SAMHC
5
ALBERTA COLLEGE FOR ART + DESIGN STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION ACADSA
6
CONCORDIA STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION CSA
6
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF GRANDE PRAIRIE REGIONAL COLLEGE SAGPRC
7
SOUTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION SAITSA
7
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF NORQUEST COLLEGE SANQC
7
STUDENTS ASSOCIATION OF RED DEER COLLEGE SARDC
8
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF OLDS COLLEGE SAOC
8
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF BOW VALLEY COLLEGE SABVC
9
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF KEYANO COLLEGE SAKC
9
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE LCSA
9
The King’s University Students’ Association TKUSA TKUSA focuses this year’s efforts on reducing stigma on campus and communicating, available resources, and improving mental wellness of students. Student wellness will be improved through stress-reducing events such as “Wellness Wednesdays” to offer healthy snacks and informative messaging. A pinnacle event - Mental Health Week - will promote and empower students to with the help of speakers, stress management series, awareness about stigma, and offering resources. Another approach TKUSA is using to improve student wellness and campus health is offering training to foster the peer-support networks on campus. For example, the “Elephant in the Room” campaign opens the door to discussion amongst campus members. Faculty, students, and campus other campus partners participation last year has set this year for success and continues participation.
NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE
FOR
TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS’
ASSOCIATION NAITSA This year NAITSA is working on a holistic wellness approach. NAITSA is combining increased mental health awareness, stress-reducing events, peer-support training, informative workshops, and campus partnerships. The self-care focused campaign “All You Need is Love” will promote positive wellbeing and help inform students who need it. Events will be hosted throughout the year to provide helpful information by inviting guest speakers, self–care information, stress-reduction, and a unified brand to make support easily identifiable. Additional free mental health first aid, therapy dogs, and food will be offered through out the year. Partnerships with ULifeLine, High F.I.V.E, and the Mental Health Awareness Committee will help to educate and inform all events this upcoming year.
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
OF
MEDICINE HAT COLLEGE SAMHC
SAMHC is supporting students in crisis, building awareness week activities, and growing their mental health strategies for stress management and additions. Over the past two years, SAMHC established a Peer Support Centre and counselling service on their campus. This year they continue their peer support services that continue to grow in demand, while supplementing their services in newfound ways. SAMHC is partnering with community service providers and specialists to offer improved, formalized training to student volunteers. By growing and perfecting partners and resources, respectively, SAMHC wants to ensure their meeting the needs of students. They are implementing student surveys to optimize volunteers and participants outcomes.
ALBERTA COLLEGE
FOR
ART + DESIGN STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
ACADSA ACADSA continues to promote mental health through awareness campaigns, workshops, and arts-based research projects that emphasize the importance of achieving a greater sense of well-being. The awareness campaigns highlight campus and community resources available to students, and provide tips for students who are not comfortable seeking support in person. Student Health 101, an informational health magazine, will offer students the opportunity to research wellness topics on their own time. The workshops provided by ACADSA tackle issues post-secondary students face, from sexual health, to stress and time management, and achieving healthy eating and sleeping habits. The Artist in Residence program – a campus favourite – continues to raise awareness about mental health issues, while giving students the ability to gain hands-on experience. Furthermore, it sparks much-needed conversation centered on mental health between the students involved, and extends to the entire campus and local community.
CONCORDIA STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION CSA In the upcoming year, CSA is focusing on raising awareness of mental health issues by advertising and encouraging students to attend various student-led events, while also providing information about what mental health services are available on campus. A Mental Health Coordinator (MHC) will oversee initiatives and the Street Team with the goal of launching coordinated campus events to combat stigma. Their goal is to promote overall well-being. CSA hopes to heighten impact by expanding reach and resources into the broader community, to make mental health a greater priority across all age-groups. From physical health, mindfulness to the financial impacts on stress - CSA is offering services and supports to help their students navigate their post-secondary experience. The Street Team is tackling stigma by organizing an event that will provide insight into students’ opinions on mental health and stigma, and challenge much of the misconceptions with mental illness. Smaller initiatives, like yoga classes and stress reduction seminars, will help foster partnerships within Concordia and beyond. Two Mental Health Fairs are planned to encourage local non-profits and stakeholders in the mental health field to set up booths around campus and participate in activities with students, fostering a greater awareness in both Concordia’s student body and the local community.
Students’ Association of Grande Prairie Regional College SAGPRC This year, SAGPRC is focused on transitioning the highly successful, enhanced GPRC Peer Counselling Program into a community-funded program. In addition to promoting the Peer Counselling Program through promotional videos for both students and community stakeholders, SAGPRC is also placing great emphasis on increasing mental health awareness and reducing stigma more effectively on the GPRC campus. This is demonstrated through the creation of the Mental Health Committee to help lead future mental health initiatives, as well as meditation classes held every Monday and numerous training sessions for Mental Health First Aid.
SOUTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION SAITSA SAITSA is proposing five innovative projects for the upcoming school year. Each is designed to reduce the stigma around mental health and mental illness, and promote positive mental health messages on campus through collaboration with SAIT staff, faculty and departments. Wellness Wednesdays will also be implemented at SAITSA, consisting of free yoga sessions, breakfast and massage programs. A number of awareness campaigns are planned, encouraging mental health awareness, self-care habits, healthy eating and nutrition, and awareness of addictions common among post-secondary students. Furthermore, SAITSA is focusing efforts on improving the Student Support Centre through capacity building, such as expanding its service hours and purchasing more furniture to accommodate the growing number of students that access the Centre.
STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
OF
NORQUEST COLLEGE SANQC
SANQC continues the success of the Get Linked program -- a social support program that is designed to support students and alleviate common stressors that affect them throughout their postsecondary experience. With a part-time assistant, the program is expanding to include volunteers and more community partners. A Peer Support program is now running. It consists of organized campus and city tours, and peer chat sessions where like-minded students come together to discuss common mental health concerns. SANQC plans to solidify their mental health initiatives by creating a mascot that will be present during mental health events and activities. This mascot, a pink elephant, will be accompanying displays that say “Help me Stomp out Stigma” and “Let’s Talk About the
Elephant in the Room.” With the help of the mascot, students will also be encouraged to participate in mental health activities thanks to the exciting “Name the ACHMI Mascot” campaign. Student Health 101 (SH101), an online health and wellness magazine will continue to extend access to health and wellness information to regional and distance students, offering customized information on mental health resources that are easily accessible and readily available for all students at NorQuest.
STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
OF
RED DEER COLLEGE SARDC
SARDC is working to improve the quality of life for students at RDC through the creation of a campus environment that is welcoming, safe, and supportive of students’ mental health. Mental health initiatives on the RDC campus will increase awareness, combat stigma, and ensure students feel supported, with events and campaigns that are broadly applicable to all student demographics. Student voices are included in the programming via surveys, the SARDC Mental Health Committee, and the 2016 Mental Health Essay contest. SARDC ‘s “Bee” mascot and logo will reappear, to help maintain visibility and untie messaging throughout campaigns. “Stigma: Not In My School” is an anti-stigma campaign that allows students to take ownership over their experience at RDC, and help to reduce stigma and raise awareness about mental health issues. The goal is to foster a supportive and compassionate campus community. SARDC plans to offer ASIST training and partnering with on-campus bodies to promote training of Community Helpers, as part of supporting a health campus community. The efforts of SARDC are supplemented by existing supports on campus. SARDC and RDC have a solid connection throughout the years, cultivating a collaborative approach to raising awareness on campus.
Students’ Association of Olds College SAOC In the next year, SAOC will focus on reducing student stress, healthy eating, student inclusion, and reducing the stigma around mental health on campus. These goals will be accomplished by starting a Mental Health Committee, providing avenues for students to be physically active, distributing free healthy snacks, and promoting the available mental health services on campus. Stress on the Olds College campus will be reduced by weekly yoga and dance classes, where students will have the chance to take a mental break from the growing pressures of post-secondary. Guest speakers will speak on lived experiences with mental illness and overcoming obstacles surrounding mental health in an effort to reduce stigma. Healthy minds and healthy bodies will be encouraged through free smoothie days and trivia days on sexual health. Mental Health First Aid training sessions will also be offered to students.
Together, these initiatives will address mental health concerns and promote discussion across the Olds College campus.
Students’ Association of Bow Valley College SABVC SABVC ‘s “If You Could Read My Mind” campaign will invite campus community members to share their support of mental health through photos and anonymous messages to personalize the struggles of mental illness. Bow Valley College is a campus with wide ranging diversity. To support stigma reduction on campus, SABVC is partnering with the Counselling and Wellness departments to host a speakers-series and Mosaic event geared with culturally specific messages around mental health. This year will also launch a peer support program, with up to 20 peer supporters reaching out to their campus community. Overall, SABVC is holistically raising awareness on issues pertaining to campus wellness, from gender, sexual health, LGBTQ issues, nutrition, stress reduction, and much more.
Students’ Association of Keyano College SAKC Keyano College’s unique location in the north inspired SAKC to use targeted mental wellness approaches. SAKC will showcase educational art installations, support campus nutrition and physical health, and beautify the campus to promote natural light to enhance well-being. The events on campus will range from Mental health first aid training, StressLess events, Lego sets, pedometer challenges, plant growing competitions, mental health emergency first-aid kits, to 28-Days of Happiness promotions. With support from counseling services, Alberta Public Health, and the Wellness Centre, the student mental health committee will continue to identify needs and oversee all events and initiatives.
Students’ Association of Lethbridge College LCSA Throughout the year, LCSA initiatives will work to build a mentally healthy campus. Activities such as Conversation Couch, Give a Compliment, and Pop your Problems will work to build healthy connections and support an empowered student body. Working towards a stigma-free campus, LCSA’s Bathroom Knowledge Centres, health resources, and speakers’ series will ensure students can readily access information for their mental health in a safe welcoming environment.
Other services to reduce stigma and help promote health include the Coffee Kart, offering snacks to studiers during exam season; Uni-Tea, using tea to help start conversations around health; and Wellness Wednesday. These and other initiatives are made possible with the support of the campus and community partners such as Shepell counseling, Accessibility Services, Academic Advisors, and others invested in promoting health and active lifestyles. Â
From more information contact: Jessica Turowski ACMHI Project Manager Jessica@albertastudents.ca 780-756-4500