For the second year in a row, Wilfrid Laurier University is making a more active commitment to supporting campus mental health initiatives for students, staff and faculty through funding provided by the Mindful Campuses grant.
On June 29, Laurier received two separate, $2,000 grants: one for Laurier’s Human Resources department, and the other for the Student Wellness Centre at the Brantford campus.
The grant, facilitated by Mindful Employer Canada in collaboration with Canada Life and Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, was created to provide certain institutions with the opportunity to support the “psychological health and safety” of their staff, students and faculty.
“We are grateful to receive Mindful Campuses grants again this year,” said Pamela Cant, chief human resources and equity officer at Laurier, in an email statement.
“The impact of the global pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of mental health and wellness education. Laurier is committed to providing supports and resources to help keep faculty, staff and students healthy and resilient.”
The university will be using the funds from the grant to support a series of workshops targeted at providing tools and resources for students, staff and faculty to strengthen their resilience during stressful situations and reinforce positive mental health strategies.
“By championing and supporting health and wellbeing, we can build a stronger, more inclusive community,” Cant said in an email statement.
Each of the workshops will be focused on different groups within Laurier. The first workshop, “Plan for Resilience,” will be targeted specifically at staff and faculty; the second workshop, “From Surviving to Thriving,” will be targeted at students.
These workshops will be in addition to the regular Thrive Week mental health programming that the university offers staff, students and faculty.
“Human Resources and the Student Wellness Centres will be collaborating to bring Thrive Week to students, faculty and staff in the fall,” Cant said in an email statement.
“Thriving at Laurier means feeling motivated, resilient and ready to take on life’s challenges. Thrive events aim to promote mental health literacy, reduce stigma and create an inclusive and supportive campus culture.”
“Popular Thrive Week events [will] centre around self-care and the ‘Thrive 5’: moving regularly, sleeping soundly, eating well, helping others and connecting socially,” she said.
This is also the first year that the Brantford campus has applied for this grant program.
“We are honoured to receive a Mindful Campuses grant,” said Jodie Lockey-Duesling, acting manager of the Student Wellness Centre at Laurier’s Brantford campus, in an email statement. “The grant will allow us to further support the well-being of social work students as they develop future-ready skills through field placement
