Umpqua Community College is working on building a new wellness department on campus to focus on students’ mental health and accessibilities needs. A wellness center is now located in the Educational Skills Building across from the Swanson Amphitheater. The center provides many recourses to help students through difficult times such as specialty short term counseling services, special academic advising, weekly wellness workshops, support groups and the resiliency room (located in ESB 9).
A group from Dustin Cosby’s Small Group discussion class is hosting a Resiliency Week in the LaVerne Murphy Student Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 27 to March 3 to help kick off the wellness center. Group members and wellness staff will provide information on wellness center courses as well as food, a drawing for prizes, therapy dogs and wellness workshop sign-ups. The group’s goal is to spread information to students about all the free health services and support available to them on campus.
Kylie Chong, a student in the Small Group class, is helping with the Resiliency Week event. “Raising awareness about mental illness and eliminating the stigma attached to it is incredibly important. So many people struggle everyday, unaware what is wrong, and many others are too afraid to get the help they need. We want to show people that you are never alone. There are so many resources on campus and in the community that we want to showcase and bring light to and show that there are always people in your corner,” said Chong. Chong’s other Small Group team members will also be in the Student Center during Resiliency Week: Taylor Tate, Sheri Rokus, Cheyenne Ramos and Rebecca Mapes.
The Small Group team is requesting donations for the Resiliency room to make it more of a safe and comfortable space for students. They ask for decorative room décor such as student art (paintings, poetry, drawings, sculptures, etc.), activities (moon sand, adult coloring books, colored pencils, books, dry erase markers, quiet games, paper, etc.), and other items such as CDs, plants, and headphones.
They request that none of the donations are negative or profane, for they want to keep the area a safe place for everyone.