Staff and students take time to talk
Staff and students from Paisley’s West College Scotland gathered together to chat.
They were supporting Time to Talk Day – a national initiative aimed at encouraging people to talk about their mental health.
With a ‘ Wow Walk’ and a tea, coffee and information stand at the campus, the staff of West College Scotland were out in force to ensure that their support didn’t go unnoticed.
Kirsty MacEwan, the Student Wellbeing Advisor at West College Scotland, coordinated the day and was assisted by the Students’ Association and Joy McLean, who is a Librarian at our Clydebank campus.
And many members of staff, and students, gave up their free time over lunch to join the Wow Walk.
All participants were provided with a ‘See Me’ badge and encouraged to pass the badge on to another person and start a chat about mental health.
This can be a simple “How are you?” or a more complex conversation, and the badges aim to break the stigma of mental health and to create communities where talking about mental health is the norm.
Kirsty was delighted to be able to get involved and encourage conversations surrounding mental health.
She said: “One thing that really struck me about the day is that it really is good to talk and how much we all have in common!
“We all worry, feel anxious or stressed, but by chatting about it, we gain greater understanding of each other and our own mental health.”
Nicole Percival, President of the Students’ Association, agreed that taking part in Time to Talk Day was a step towards normalising conversations about mental health.
She said: “I believe it was a great event to reduce the stigma of mental health. Having both staff and students enjoying a walk together was a good source of support and a great way of breaking down the barriers that students may feel are in their way.
“A big thank you goes to Kirsty, Joy and our Students’ Association team for supporting such a worthy cause and for ensuring that Time to Talk day was a success at West College Scotland.”