Assiniboine receives $100K Bell Let's Talk grant

Assiniboine Community College has been announced as a recipient of the Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary Fund, with an Implementation Grant that will total $100,000 over two years.

This follows last year’s $25,000 kickoff grant from Bell Let’s Talk that the college received to support research into student wellbeing.

The grant will go toward Assiniboine’s Peer Support Program for Wellness, which will build the following benefits and supports to student mental health:

• Additional supporters - trained students to guide and empathize with students
• Referrals - students equipped with knowledge of campus and community resources
• Healthy and safe spaces – physical and virtual spaces where students can collaborate with and support each other
• Education opportunities - trained students to facilitate sessions to other students

“If students are not holistically well, they cannot learn effectively and there is evidence-based literature related to post-secondary student wellness that suggests that peer support is one of the most effective means of increasing student wellness,” said Brandy Robertson, Wellness Student Success Advisor at Assiniboine.

According to a release from Bell Let’s Talk, the 2021 survey by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations concluded that the pandemic has not only worsened pre-existing mental health challenges in 78% of students, but it has created new challenges for 64% of students.

“Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health concerns for students, compounded by the uncertainty of this pandemic. Isolation has led to social anxiety for a lot of students attending classes on campus. Stress levels are often heightened for longer periods of time, which has a significant impact on wellbeing,” said Robertson.

The college collaborated closely with the ACC Students’ Association to plan for the success and sustainability of this important grant and wellness project.

You can find the full release from Bell Let’s Talk here.

Find an example of the literature Robertson refers to here.