By: Anu Scofield
Like every educational institution around the world, Nazareth University has students struggling to maintain mental and physical health. With the help from supportive faculty, a generous federal grant, and the spirit of compassion, a new program called “The Well-Being Collective” has been rolled out this fall semester. Accessible through the Naz website, their home page contains many resources through which students can learn various strategies to keep up morale.
The overall goal of this initiative is to prioritize “outreach and prevention,” as explained by Kim Harvey, Associate VP for Student and Campus Life and Dean of Students in Student Experience. The Well-Being Collective is a consolidation of resources Nazareth has for students that function as components for sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
The “Continuum of Care Model” is one of the most intriguing elements of the site. It consists of steps to consider taking to elevate your mental state as well as where they could be carried out on campus.
John Rigney, Assistant Director for Wellness Outreach & Education in Health and Counseling Services, says, “We are wanting ourselves and our students to be preventive instead of reactive.”
By ensuring your mind and body are not being neglected, you’ll have a layer of protection to uphold mental stability, as well as coping skills should you need them. For example, the first step is to “practice self-care.” Treating your body with physical exercise can be accomplished in the pool, Golisano Training Center, with Bikes@Naz, etc. The mind can be pampered in meditation spaces in the chapel, the labyrinth, and at relaxing areas like the fountain.
Harvey said that this model showed her that, “there are a lot of things on campus that we’re doing, it’s just a matter of having them all in one place, rather than stumbling upon them.”
One of the main goals of the collective is to make students aware of the options they offer so they don’t reach a point of crisis. She and Rigney both referenced under-utilized programs put together by Student Engagement that could play a role in gradual stress relief through the semester. These include anxiety toolbox workshops, wellness Wednesdays, mindful Mondays, goat yoga sessions, Midnight breakfast, and many more.
The grant secured by Rigney plays a vital role in improving mental health services. In an episode of President Paul’s podcast, Rigney said,
“Mental health isn’t just a counseling issue, it’s a campus wide issue,” emphasizing their goal of training everyone on campus to recognize and support students experiencing emergencies.
“Gatekeeper training” is about educating coaches, professors, staff, and student leaders in how to react when they become aware of someone that is struggling. This is important because the counselors that specialize in averting crisis may not be the first to know how a student is feeling, so those surrounding them must be able to recognize signs of decline to refer them to help. Gatekeeper training has been offered in different forms in the past, such as Question, Persuade, Refer training, and Mental Health First Aid, but will be expanded upon with a focus on substance abuse with additional funding.
An incredibly valuable aspect of the grant is the new presence of the JED Foundation. Their mental health experts will conduct surveys of the campus and offer Nazareth administration tools to directly combat gaps they find. Over four years, they hope to implement programs from their feedback that will address the community’s needs in a comprehensive manner.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that awarded the grant has goals of enhancing mental health services, preventing and reducing suicide and substance abuse behaviors, promote help seeking behaviors, and improving identification and treatment of at-risk students.
Hiring more members of the Health and Counseling team has been another perk of this project. An Alcohol and Other Drugs and Suicide Prevention Coordinator has been integrated into the available staff members to seek assistance from. Since his hiring, Rigney says that they’ve almost doubled the number of counselors and added an outreach department in the past ten years. Their pledge to improve services will not stop there, as they intend to thoroughly adapt to the JED Foundation’s evaluation.
“We’re all a piece to the puzzle, so if we could all have shared understanding and shared tools, shared resources of how to interact with one another, it will strengthen us,” Harvey stated in reference to the commitment Nazareth has to enriching the synergy of campus.
The Well-Being Collective will soon be seeking student voices to build their team. The inter-disciplinary forces will only continue to develop as more members of the populace contribute to the foundation of humanity.
If you or someone you know is struggling, consider reaching out to the Well-Being Collective’s team for support. In the event of an emergency, do not hesitate to contact Campus Safety, (585) 389-2525, at any hour of the day. The Nazareth community is here to serve its members and will continue to flourish with everyone’s help.
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