Waterloo marks Mental Health Wellness Day

The University of Waterloo is asking students, staff and faculty to wear orange T-shirts to mark the 8^th annual Mental Health Wellness Day on Wednesday October 26.

Mental Health Wellness Day was initiated in 2009 to communicate that Waterloo is an open and caring campus and to highlight the resources available should mental health issues arise, says Sandra Gibson, manager of health education for Health Services on campus.

Gibson said the three key mental health messages remain the same:

• 1 in 5 Canadians will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime
• Waterloo is a caring community and a safe place to ask for help
• There are resources to help

Gibson said an overwhelming number of students, staff and faculty responded to the request to be in the 2016 Mental Health Wellness video. The video showcases support, acceptance and unity for each other with the key messages “you are not alone” and “we’re together.”

Over the years, the campus has been uniting as a community to:

• provide support, resources, and referrals
• reduce the stigma associated with mental health and seeking support
• provide positive mental health activities (i.e. yoga, therapeutic recreation activities)
• offer workshops (Coping Skills) and peer-to-peer support (i.e Mates) to students.

This unified awareness campaign highlights the mental health support that happens on our campus and aims to reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health support. 
 

• There are services to help students, staff and faculty: Health, Counselling, AccessAbility, Police and Occupational Health.
• There are people to help: nurses, physicians, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists, academic advisors, success coaches, residence life staff, religious advisors, peer mentors and student leaders.
• There are 24-hour support lines: Good2Talk, Here24Seven Crisis Services and the Employee Family Assistance Plan.
• Information and education for the campus community: QPR suicide prevention, Mental Health First Aid, SafeTalk.
• There are resources, workshops and peer-to-peer support: Coping Skills, Study Skills, Life Skills, MATES, PASS kit.
• There are avenues for students to connect with others both academically and socially through each of the faculty societies, FEDS clubs and services, peer mentorship, drop-in tutoring, and Athletics and Recreation programs. 

"Together we are creating an environment where all university members are interested in the well-being of others," said Gibson.

uwaterloo.ca/1in5

#uwmentalhealth