“Students turn to informal supports before they turn to formal supports: their family, their friends, their community.”–Sheena Abar
OTHER SUPPORTS ON CAMPUS Here are just a few of the programs you might not know about that support mental health on campus: Aboriginal Student Services Centre Services include the Transition Year Program, help with scholarships and funding, housing support, student advising, Elder services, cultural connections, a smudge room and social work support. } aboriginalservices.ualberta.ca Crisis Intervention Training The long-term goal is to see all U of A student services staff trained to properly respond to someone in crisis with the certified QPR Suicide Gatekeeper training. Offered by the Community Social Work Team, the training is also open to students. } community.ualberta.ca Fall Break Week A student-generated idea, the new Fall Break Week offers an academic break for students and an opportunity to build the campus community before the stressful exam and holiday season. Helping Individuals at Risk (HIAR) and Early Feedback System Co-ordinated systems that train faculty and staff to notice and report students having problems academically and intervene before those problems escalate. The system also provides a confidential, central location to report those at risk of harm to self or others. } disclosure.ualberta.ca/en/Helping_Individuals_ at_Risk.aspx } augustana.ualberta.ca/programs/lab/resources/ early_feedback_system.html Student Success Centre (SSC) Whether it’s helping students prepare for university life or deal with their academics, the SSC strives to help students proactively deal with common mental health stressors. } studentsuccess.ualberta.ca } studentsuccess.ualberta.ca/T2U.aspx Suicide Prevention Framework A co-ordinated and comprehensive project that is building on the existing network of programs and services to proactively prevent suicide among students at the U of A. Unwind Your Mind (Healthy Campus Unit) Designed to help students de-stress during exam periods, the program includes pet-assisted stress relief, fitness classes and healthy snack handouts. 30 newtrail.ualberta.ca
a nursing student who has completed the Community Helpers program and is helping bring Unitea back to campus. Symenuk, like many, struggled during her first year and thought about dropping out. She draws on that experience as she works to help support other students — a role she feels is her responsibility. “However you define your community, we all have a role to play, and at some point or another we’re all going to be affected by mental health. We’re all responsible for creating a healthy and well community.”
A Rising Tide
The university community can offer support, guidance and inspiration, but, like any journey, students have to find their own path. Resiliency has to start with the students themselves. They have to seek out connections, look for supports and share their stories in order to grow. When Vivian Kwan began to recover from her depression, she was encouraged by organizers of the student-led Healthy Campus Unit to join their efforts. Before long, she began to find her footing. She joined several campus groups, including the Student Health Committee and the Lieutenant Governor’s Circle for Mental Health and Addiction. She is a co-creator of Positive U, an initiative to help foster resiliency among students and get people talking. Last spring, Kwan was elected to the Students’ Union executive board as vice-president of student life. One of Kwan’s goals is to build awareness around student mental health. The resiliency she developed has given her strength to forge ahead and carve out a transformative university experience. Now she wants to develop strategies to help other students learn how to cope before a crisis hits, before they find themselves at the end of a closed road where it seems there’s no way out. Students who seek help often become helpers themselves, and not only helpers, but leaders. The more they get involved — looking out for each other, intervening when they see someone struggling — the stronger leaders they become and the stronger the community becomes. And those campus leaders go on to become compassionate citizens who listen and build a better society. Our university experiences change us, for better or for worse. They push us to cope, to grow, to discover. A system of support, both informal and formal, can help students find their way and make the whole experience just a little less scary. So many student mental health issues can be overcome with a listening ear, a helping hand and a calming presence. In her Students’ Union campaign speech, Kwan shared her struggle with mental illness. “I didn’t think I’d be brave enough to give that speech. People came up to me and said, ‘I didn’t know.’ ... After the speech I wondered why I was afraid to share my story. I mean, it’s something that happened, it’s real life, and the more you talk about it the more you face it and leave it in the past. You share it like a story, a memory. It doesn’t define you.” And if she could go back and give herself advice, what would she tell her troubled first- and second-year self? “Hang out with friends more. Enjoy the outdoors a little bit more. Build relationships, even if it’s a 10- or 15-minute conversation. Take time to talk to someone about how you feel, even if how you feel is tinged with negativity.... It’s really hard, but you keep going.”