How colleges can learn from the peer support movement

By Kelly Davis, MHA Associate Vice President of Peer and Youth Advocacy

Among our findings, students shared that student-led programs offer more comprehensive approaches. Additionally, students want more training on peer support, crisis response, and student rights – all of which can be supported by numerous resources and the vast expertise present in the peer support community

Students want peer support programs, and much of the campus pushback can be addressed with decades of insight from the peer support community. It’s time to close the gaps between off-campus and on-campus peer support. By working together and sharing knowledge across organizations and movements, we can create a mental health support system that truly meets the needs of all students

I did not have answers to these questions, and my research for campus peer support programs came up short. So, I continued my advocacy on campus and created an informal peer support group that met in quiet spots on campus, and even a student’s apartment.

At the time, I was unaware that there were organizations and individuals who had been leading mental health peer support programs for decades. I would later find out that there is research, technical assistance available for individuals running and launching peer programs, and peer support certification in almost every state

Since I graduated from college, conversations about campus peer support have progressed. Yet, there is still a large gap between what campuses are trying to figure out and the wide range of resources and wisdom available through the peer support movement.

To fill this gap, Mental Health America partnered with the Temple University Collaborative for Community Inclusion and Doors to Wellbeing to explore the experiences of college students in a new report: Peer Support In College Mental Health Initiatives: Learning From The Peer Support Movement.