With the help of a federal grant, Johnson County Community College is expanding on-campus mental health services with the aim of promoting student success and well-being, college officials say.
What changes are coming?
The college recently received a roughly $75,000 grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The money will be used to increase staff and faculty training around mental health with the goal of being more inclusive on campus.
JCCC is also focused on expanding training campus-wide for student ambassadors and student-athletes to be able to refer other students to resources on campus.
“We know that with mental health that peer-to-peer connection is significant in impacting change,” said counselor Alicia Bredehoeft.
JCCC also plans to establish a community advisory board as part of its mental health intervention and suicide prevention strategies.
That body will collaborate with the college to develop strategies that address mental health challenges faced by students and help contribute to a campus culture that values mental well-being.
Students, staff are looking forward to improvements
Students the Post talked with on campus welcomed the new supports.
“I feel that this is more than needed, I have visited the counseling center multiple times and felt that it needed some improvement as it did take a minute for me to get in touch with the clinician that was available,” said Megan Lee, a senior. “I hope that this makes getting mental health help easier for students.”
Some students said they felt that the counseling center can be overlooked and hope that this will bring some needed attention to the campus’s mental health services.
“I didn’t even know that therapy was free and available to students on campus until a friend of mine told me so I feel that this needs to be brought more attention, so I think this is a great thing,” freshman Kim Regan said.
“I’m excited about the upcoming community board as there will be a constant dialogue about mental health from the president down. We are taking a grass-roots approach as mental health is a human issue, and we want everyone to be engaged,” Bredehoeft said.
For students and individuals seeking more information about counseling services, JCCC encourages them to visit the college’s website.
The “Personal Counseling” section provides details and resources to support students needing support.
Taylor Wilmore is a freelance reporter.
