UVIC - Mental Health Campaign

HELLO,

and thank you for helping us bring the Friendship Bench to UVic!


We are so grateful to have a strong group of student advocates and mentors at our University who want to help fellow students who are struggling with mental health issues.  However, there is still a higher number of students at UVic who deal with anxiety and depression* than the Canadian average.  With new programs being put in place, we need to support a positive community around mental health.
 

The Friendship Bench is a permanent, year-round structure that acts as a visual confluence of all the wonderful support UVic has to offer for its student’s mental health. The bench is to be sat on with the intention of evoking open-minded conversation, and the plaque beside the bench connects students directly with all UVic’s Mental Health resources.  It is not only a structure but a statement and a promise to the students of tomorrow that they are not alone if they are stressed, feel anxious, depressed, hopeless or lost.  We are in this together as a community, and we are willing to take the next step to show we are ready to help. 

 
UVSS, UVSS Clubs, Office of Student Life, the community of Victoria, UVic staff and students – thank you for supporting this cause and making mental health issues transparent on campus.

*National College Health Assessment, 2016.