College has team to help stressed-out youngsters settle in new surroundings
Allie Scott at the Shannon White and to R) Claire Nelson, at Perth UHI student support hub Parties, all-nighters, making friends and carefree living.
These are the things that are associated with the life of a student. But it can be difficult moving away from home or becoming an independent person at such a young age.
Shannon White (19) has Aspergers and moved into Perth College UHI accommodation to study technical theatre and production arts last year but struggled with her new surroundings.
She is one of the many students to use the student support service after self-harming and having suicidal thoughts after starting her course.
She said: “Accommodation is great for some people.
“It can be the best thing that has ever happened to them, many have a great time and make friends for life.
“But for some people it just doesn’t work. I mean I only lasted six months.
“Now I’ve got my own flat and my own space.
“I’m glad I moved out and I am glad I moved when I did.
“I have had very prolific selfharm issues and put a lot of pressure on myself.”
In 2015/16, more than 15,000 UK-based first-year students disclosed mental health issues, Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) analysis suggests.
The IPPR said in 2017 that the 2006 figure was about 3000 and the rise risks overwhelming university services.
“I basically live up here [at the student support hub] because I know that I have a safe space,” Shannon said.
“Coming back [after summer] makes you nervous. You’re out of the loop for about eight weeks and you don’t know what to expect when you come back.
“It makes me feel safe and I know I have someone there who is going to be looking out for me.”
The hub has many forms of support – from wellbeing and support officers putting support plans for those with mental health difficulties, to counselling sessions for students.
Most pertinent perhaps is their crisis call service where a member of staff, one day a week, is on duty for those students who identify as being suicidal or are at risk of harm in some way – and the team member can respond there and then.
“I’ve used the crisis system before and I’ve been in some messes but someone is always there,” said Shannon.
“The outside help won’t look at me anymore because I had child services. I went to psychiatry service and nothing happened. But when I came here and said I was struggling it was answered immediately.”
Allie Scott, the student support and counselling team leader, and Claire Nelson, a student support worker, are two of six team members. They admit there is still a long way to go to address mental health issues – but praised the impact of Suicide Prevention Week.
Allie said: “I think it’s brilliant because suicide stats dropped last year. But it’s something that still needs to be addressed.
“We see quite lot of students on a weekly basis expressing suicidal thoughts.
“Ten years ago when I started here, I wouldn’t have got that. Maybe one a month.
“So there is a huge pressure on students which is linked to them feeling suicidal and I think it’s fantastic they are doing something.
“Anybody’s first time away from home is scary. I think that part is hugely underestimated and misunderstood in the wider community.
“You’ve got all this responsibilty placed on you that maybe you never had before. Not just about the independent living side but the academic side.
“When you move you can leave when you want, you can come back when you want, there’s people encouraging you to go out and there is no regulation of that.
“There is huge pressure for young students.
“When you move into halls or a shared flat, all of a sudden you’re living with two or three other people who are total strangers and they’ve all got their own issues and they are struggling to cope.
“You might just really miss home.
“Everyone has mental health. I think there is a huge amount of work that needs to be done but not just in education but across the board to say ‘It’s okay, it’s a natural thing’.”
Claire said: “It’s about getting people’s voices out there again and encouraging others to do so and telling them who they can turn to.
”If you count between September and Christmas, especially in drop-ins, the amount of students that come in and say they had thought they