Vanier College is pleased to announce that it is set to receive $80,000 in funding, over a two-year period, from Bell Let's Talk Post-Secondary Fund, to continue its work on improving student mental health. The funding will go towards the College's development and implementation of a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training Program for students and staff, as well as the creation of a Community of Practice for trained students and staff members.
"Upstream mental health supports on campus can help prevent serious mental health presentations and acute care downstream. This project will create preventative means and systems to support students," said Christina Cichon, Director of Student Services. "We are very grateful to Bell and the Bell Let's Talk Post-Secondary Fund for the financial support. The funding will advance community knowledge and awareness of mental health first aid while reducing stigma, and nurture champions on campus, which can have far reaching effects and impacts to promote a safe, supportive and inclusive campus. The community of practice around MHFA will allow students to ask questions, express concerns, and receive support in a moderated environment, for continued learning after the training has ended."
In 2022, Vanier College invested resources to complete a Student Mental Health Audit to gauge how well the college fared in supporting student mental health against the National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students. The report highlighted areas of strength to be celebrated and gaps/opportunities for improvement. In 2023, following the audit, the College developed a Vanier College Strategy for Supporting Student Mental Health (2023-2026) with actionable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to further support student mental health by closing gaps named in the audit, and by aligning with the Québec Action Plan. To this end, the funding will contribute to improvement of community mental health knowledge by implementing mental health literacy training for all community members.
