New provincial funding to help provide post-secondary students with upgraded mental health services is certainly welcome, says Olds College's Debbie Thompson, vice-president of student and support services.
The provincial government recently announced that it would be implementing seven approaches outlined in the Next Steps to Improve Post-Secondary Mental Health multi-stakeholder report.
Under the initiative, post-secondary institutions will receive $8.9 million in new funding this year to improve health promotion on campuses, as well as giving students access to improved 24-hour phone and online counselling support.
"We are very excited about the announcement, for the commitment to student mental health," said Thompson. "We know that mental health and wellness continues to be a focus on post-secondary campuses and that the understanding and promotion of positive mental health and providing access to wellness resources is a very important factor in supporting our students in their success."
How much each post-secondary school will receive will be announced in the fall.
Thompson confirmed that Olds College will be receiving some of the funding, "but we don't know what our portion of that will be."
The seven approaches are as follows:
ï Providing funding to post-secondary institutions for greater health promotion and mental health supports.
ï Improving access to 24-hour universal supports throughout the province.
ï Reviewing student aid to ensure policies support students who are experiencing mental health problems.
ï Defining the roles of post-secondary and public health systems in improving post-secondary student mental health.
ï Ensuring mental health supports are coordinated within the larger regional health systems.
ï Funding the Healthy Campus Alberta Community of Practice to enhance system coordination, consistency and continual improvement.
ï Providing a one-time, two-year grant opportunity to support indigenous post-secondary students' mental health.
"We have heard first-hand how important mental health programs are to students - which is why, for the first time, government is providing equitable funding to all public institutions," said Marlin Schmidt, minister of advanced education.
"Creating healthy campuses and promoting positive mental health at Alberta's post-secondary institutions better prepares students to deal with everyday stresses, sets students up for future success, and builds a more resilient community."
Ian Lee, chair of Alberta Students' Executive Council, said: "ASEC is encouraged that their voice has been heard in regards to the need for strong and consistent support of mental health programs on Alberta campuses. This equitable funding will serve students across the province who previously could not access mental health supports."
According to the 2016 National College Health Assessment survey conducted by 10 post-secondary institutions in the province, more than 90 per cent of Alberta's students polled reported feeling overwhelmed, and more than 13 per cent seriously considered suicide.
Olds College already has numerous supports in place to promote good mental health for students, Thompson said.
"We currently provide a number of student support services that focus on the prevention and treatment of mental health issues," she said.
"We have counselling services and health services on campus, along with a learning centre that provides everything from tutoring to study skills help. So those are some of the things we do.
"Our students' association has also been very dedicated to ensuring that our students have that positive work-life balance."
Student mental health is one of the four pillars of the college's current Beyond Tomorrow capital campaign, she said.
"Currently within that campaign we are hoping to raise $3 million in support of a new community wellness campus that will expand our mental and wellness initiatives. So this (new funding) will certainly contribute towards that," she said.
"We know that in a rural setting it's important to collaborate with our public and private partners and look forward to being able to improve our access to mental health and wellness supports for our staff and students, but also the community.
"We hope to be able to reduce the strain on off-campus health services and be able to provide opportunities to work together."
"We are very excited about the announcement, for the commitment to student mental health."Debbie ThompsonOlds College
