Expanded Mental Health Resources for Students, Faculty & Staff
Mental Health continues to be a SUNY-wide priority. In Fall 2021, SUNY provided Brockport with $500,000 for new one-time investments to support the mental health needs of students. These funds were based on the Board of Trustees’ resolution directing the Chancellor to expand mental health and wellness services on campuses, in part from recommendations of the Student Mental Health and Wellness Task Force.
This directive called for all SUNY Campuses to invest in access to comprehensive mental health policies and programs, specifically addressing the following:
- Develop and publicly present a social norming campaign to establish an early intervention culture with students, faculty, and staff, and also to significantly reduce any stigma associated with seeking help for mental health concerns.
- Establish training opportunities for resident directors, resident assistants, and other student-facing positions that direct students to mental health services and programs.
- Continue to offer and expand services and program opportunities launched by SUNY, such as the Student Mental Health Peer Advocates Training Program, the #ReachOutSUNY social media campaign, the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training program, the SUNY Crisis Text Line, Peer-to-Peer Assistance Hotline, Student Counseling Network, or expansion of professional services.
- Begin to build partnerships that leverage community and external stakeholders.
- Through small-scale infrastructure changes, create safe spaces that will enable mental health and wellness activities.
The Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs conducted an inventory of current mental health programming and support and identified opportunities to expand and enhance ongoing mental health support for our students. This work led to the development of a comprehensive list of mental health programs and initiatives that will be implemented over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year. This list can be on our website.
The following resources are immediately available for use. We ask that you help connect students to the following opportunities.
Student Mental Health Emergency Fund (students only)
Emergency funds are available to currently enrolled students in the Spring 2022 semester who are experiencing hardship or crisis that has impacted their mental and emotional well-being and could impact their ability to remain enrolled in school.
Eagle Cares Mental Health & Wellness Mini-Grant (faculty, staff, and student organizations)
Competitive award up to $2,500 for students, faculty, and staff is available for one-time programming initiatives that focus on mental health, suicide prevention, and intentionally aid in reducing the stigma around mental health issues.
EagleCARES Center is a Web-Based Resource for Students. This comprehensive platform provides resources for students in seven main content areas including Emotional/Mental Health, Social, Physical, Academics, Financial, Spiritual, Sex, and Relationships. The EagleCares platform is intuitive and concerns can be easily accessed with a word search, by reviewing a list of concerns in each category and/or an alphabetized list of issues/conditions. Students then have immediate access to Brockport-specific services and support, and other community and national resources in order to get help.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to refer students to this comprehensive webpage.
For questions on any of these initiatives, please contact Dr. Lorraine Acker, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.
Contact:
Dr. Lorraine Acker, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs: ldacker@brockport.edu
Posted: January 25, 2022