Brescia pledges to whole-campus approach to mental health & wellness

October 10, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, ON – In 2016, Brescia was one of 42 Canadian institutions to participate in the National College Health Assessment, administered by the American College Health Association. The findings of the Assessment estimated that over 75% of Brescia students felt overwhelming anxiety in the past year – slightly higher than the national average at almost 70%. As a student-centred community, Brescia University College has pledged a whole-campus approach to mental health and wellness through a 360 degree, multi-tiered strategy, which includes: offering complimentary professional development training; piloting a Wellness Education Peer program (WEP) and launching an interactive mental health and wellness website.

“At Brescia, we understand that the mental health and well-being of our students is closely tied to their academic success,” says Brescia’s Principal, Dr. Susan Mumm. “It is our sincere hope that our mental health strategy will support a continuum of important conversations around mental health and wellness, and will empower our students during their time with us.”

On September 22nd, Brescia launched a nationally-recognized program “Upstander Training”, the first of five complimentary and professional development opportunities available to all Brescia students. These training programs, designed to raise mental health literacy and sexual violence education, have received an overwhelming response from students, which have resulted in waitlists for multiple training sessions.

On October 4th, during HBK (Huron, Brescia, King’s) and Western Wellness Week, Brescia’s Wellness Education Peers (WEPs) launched the pilot program, with the “Take a Seat, Make a Friend & Meet the WEPs” event, featuring an on-campus ball pit. The mission of the WEPs is to provide multiple approaches to empower students to develop their own wellness strategies. It also hopes to build awareness of mental health and wellness and foster resilience in learners at Brescia University College.

An interactive Mental Health and Wellness website has also been launched to support the institution’s strategy. The website is intended to be a holistic resource for students to learn more about mental health, pathways to receive help for those in need and utilize available resources.

For more information on Brescia’s Mental Health & Wellness website and training programs, please visit: brescia.uwo.ca/life/mental-health-wellness/.


Above: Brescia’s Wellness Education Peers (WEPs) at the “Take a Seat, Make a Friend & Meet the WEPs” event

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 For more information, please contact:

Colleen Aguilar, Director, Communications & External Relations at 519-432-8353, ext. 28293 or at colleen.aguilar@uwo.ca, or Caitlin Core, Communications, Marketing & External Relations Officer at 519-432-8353, ext. 28280 or at ccore@uwo.ca.

Brescia University College, Canada’s women’s university college, is affiliated with Western University. The 1,500 women registered as either full- or part-time students at Brescia study a wide variety of subjects in the Schools of Behavioural & Social Sciences, Food & Nutritional Sciences, Humanities and Leadership & Social Change in an empowering, compassionate, student-centred and invigorating environment. Degrees are granted by Western. The Catholic University College welcomes students from all backgrounds and values diversity.