Sheridan expands mental health services with Government of Ontario investment

At a virtual event earlier today, Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and MPP for Brampton South, and Stephen Crawford, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure and MPP for Oakville, announced funding from the Ontario government to help increase access to mental health services for postsecondary students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At Sheridan, we are champions of student success and an important contributor to that success is positive mental health,” said Dr. Janet Morrison, Sheridan’s President and Vice Chancellor. “We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for this financial support to expand mental health services for our students, both inside and outside of the classroom."

“Mental health concerns are on the rise in our postsecondary institutions. Postsecondary education is stressful, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the mental health problems experienced by students. It is critical that funding is provided to help students get the support they need. I am pleased that Sheridan, which continues to be a community leader, is receiving funding to strengthen mental health supports during these unprecedented times. We need students to have the resources to achieve success,” said MPP Crawford.

The funding is part of a one-time $7-million provincial investment by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities to support mental health services for postsecondary students in 2020-21. The announcement of an additional $161,000 in funding brings a total investment of $368,000 from the Government of Ontario into the expansion of Sheridan’s mental health services.

At Sheridan, funds will support more mental health services for students, both on-campus and virtually. This will include the expansion of virtual mental health supports for students, while also building targeted programs that address the needs of equity-deserving groups such as racialized students, Indigenous students, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities.

"In these unprecedented times, our government has made it a priority to invest in more mental health services, said Sarkaria. "We recognize that our youth are under more pressure and stress than any recent generation. This funding will ensure that the mental health services they need are going to be there to support them, when they need it."

Over the course of the pandemic, Sheridan has offered free and confidential remote counselling sessions to all its students. Sheridan also confirmed its commitment to health and wellness in January with the launch of Sheridan Wellness: Our Strategy for Community Wellbeing – a guiding document intended to foster all dimensions of wellness at Sheridan for its students and employees, including mental health. The launch coincided with Sheridan’s signing of the Okanagan Charter.