Grant to help Brock expand on-campus student counselling
Exams and end-of-term assignments can be a stressful time for students, and sometimes that stress can be overwhelming.
For the fortunate students at Brock University who recognize the need to reach out for help during these times of stress, assistance is available in the form of on-campus counselling services.
It’s just not quite as accessible as some would like it to be.
But funding coming from the David S. Howes Fund grants program, a stream of Niagara Community Foundation, should help expand access to those services.
Brock’s student wellness and accessibility centre has received $136,000 over three years to expand on-campus counselling during peak demand periods.
Centre director Sarah Pennisi said this peak period usually starts after reading week each semester and lasts for about 12 weeks. During this time, the funding will allow them to bring in more qualified professionals from the Canadian Mental Health Association, so that counselling staff will be available during the early evening hours.
“We want to expand access so that students have basic availability of mental health services from 8:30 to 7:30,” she said.
She said the model of care is moving toward drop-in services, meaning students don’t necessarily have to make an appointment to see someone for help down the road but rather when the need arises.
“It’s when it hits,” she said.
“People need what they need, and they need it when they need it,” she said, adding these drop-in sessions can be quite successful in helping students gather their thoughts, put a strategy in pace and carry on.
Pennisi said the goal is to launch the expanded services in February, when the next crunch starts. Going forward, they will be measuring the impact and determine if the expanded services need to be maintained.
The grant to Brock was one of 13 across the region announced last week. In all, the foundation received 35 applications valuing a combined $2.6 million, of which the 13 will receive $370,000, plus additional “topup” funds from other portions of Niagara Community Foundation.
Additionally, Women’s Place of South Niagara received $100,000 toward an expansion project that will double the number of beds available from 20 starting next year.
The facility is regularly over capacity, said executive director Jennifer De Angelis.
“We’re consistently turning people away, tripling up rooms by adding cots,” she said, adding that the need to support women afflicted by violence is large in Niagara.
“The safety of women and children in our community is their right.”
The organization also runs a 10-bed shelter in Welland.
Welland-based Fonds Foyer Richelieu, meanwhile, will receive $100,000 over three years to support the build of a 128-bed longterm care home and to retrofit its existing senior housing facility.
Other recipients include: Community Care of West Niagara ($20,000), Grimsby Auxiliary Marine Rescue Unit ($15,000), Habitat for Humanity Niagara ($30,000), McMaster Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine ($23,000), Niagara Health Foundation ($50,000), Niagara Regional Native Centre ($30,000), Pathstone Foundation ($46,000), Project Share ($22,000), VON Canada — Niagara ($20,000) and Wellspring Niagara ($15,000).