Hey everyone, my name is Kes, I am a second year dance student and I have a personal association with mental health. In fact, according to an NUS survey in 2015, eight in ten students are suffering from a mental illness, 33% percent of these students have had suicidal thoughts and 54% of those respondents did not seek help when having problems with their mental health. But this is not just about facts, it is time to hear what I want to do about it.
Having a mental health illness is not just about improving, it is about supporting. It is important to know that it IS ok not to be ok. My aim is to raise awareness of the services offered here at Roehampton in attempt to lower the amount of student suffering. As your mental health officer, the first cause of action would be to increase the recognition of services that university already has to offer such as the, mental health network and welfare services such as counselling and drop in services. I will do this by liaising with the college and other officers throughout the year as they have one of the biggest outreach to most student.
Secondly, I want to liaise with the ‘CROW’s on each of the four colleges as well as the welfare teams on campus to have a hotline that students can call when they in need of help out of hours. This hotline will eventually become a 24 hour service.
Along with this, I want to implement a ‘chill out zone’ on each of the four colleges. The chill out zone will be a place students can go to feel calm, to get rid of any negative feelings or thoughts. This will be a space where students will feel safe to just breathe and tackle and problems they are having, especially when it all gets too much during the stressful periods at university.
Finally, I want to introduce another ‘safe place’ type area. Like in church, I want each of the four colleges to have a ‘confession box’. This will be a drop in service where you will be able to anonymously talk to a professional about whatever it is you are going through and they will guide you to the support that is best for you. Personally, I understand how difficult it can be talking about the problems that one is experiencing, even more so when you do not know what exactly that is yourself.
Although I have my daily battles to go through, this campaign isn’t about me. It is about YOU. People often speak to respond but I want you to speak so I can listen. Use me as your voice, allow me to be the change that you want to see, use me as a platform to make this university a better place to live, both inside and outside of your head.
Together, we will get better.
#sayyestokes as your Mental Health Officer