Georgian receives $100,000 from Bell Let’s Talk to enhance student mental health services
Jan. 19, 2023
Georgian College will enhance existing mental health services across all campuses thanks to $100,000 from the Bell Let’s Talk Post-secondary Fund. With this new investment, the college will add a student mental health peer support program to its mental health and well-being resources.
Peer support is a nationally and internationally recognized prevention and support strategy in mental health care, and it will become part of Georgian’s stepped-care model. of supports.
Jennifer Lloyd, Manager, Mental Health and Well-being (MHWB) at Georgian said given the increase and onset of mental health challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic among postsecondary students and the demand for mental health support, the college determined that empowering students and using their abilities to support one another safely and effectively, is an important opportunity to pursue.
Jennifer adds that successfully supporting student mental health begins with ensuring equitable access to a range of student-centered services within a stepped care model. The MHWB Peer Support program also supports Georgian’s efforts to reduce stigma related to mental health and seeking help.
Data analysis from extensive consultations with students and employees indicated that the development and implementation of a mental health peer support program should be a key priority in the college’s MHWB Strategic Plan.
The MHWB Peer Support team
The MHWB Peer Support team includes a MHWB Peer Support Project Manager and Co-ordinator who will be responsible for the daily operations of the program, and 10 MHWB Peer Supporters who are upper-year Georgian students. They will provide direct mental health support to peers seeking assistance and will be required to have lived experience with their own journey of mental health challenges and managing, overcoming, and/or living with that challenge.
The MHWB Peer Supporters will receive extensive training in accordance with the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Peer Support Guidelines, including:
• Key Principles of Peer Support
• Suicide prevention and supporting through crisis
• Supportive communication practices
• Techniques for providing text-based support
• Trauma informed practices
• Personal and professional boundaries
• Resiliency, self-care, and personal growth
The program starts in February.