Thrive Together: how a new community-university partnership is transforming student wellness

To get started, why don't you tell me about how this partnership came to be? 

My belief is that if we can't provide the services for students within our own house, then it’s important that we be creative and look outside.

Elana: Yes exactly. I was attending one of the SHIFT events, and BHC was there describing their Community Care Practitioner Program and their other initiatives, and I was quite intrigued. I thought it was very creative, interesting, and a program that can actually get at the core of supporting Black mental health on campus.  

We know that mental health impacts students’ success, their relationships, and school engagement. And so when I was at this event, listening to Lisa [Ndejuru] and Sam, it made me think, “Hey, wouldn't a partnership be kind of cool and interesting to do? To be able to leverage the services, the supports, and the expertise that BHC has for our students at Concordia?” 

I want to also emphasize the important role that NouLa is playing in our collaboration and partnership. Given that they're also working towards student wellness by building trusting and comfortable relationships, they’re able to represent student voices. I’ve been so grateful for their involvement: they’ve been at the table at all of our meetings, and helping us think about how students would want the program to roll out or how we can engage and recruit students to this service.

Can you talk more about the benefits of community-university partnerships? 

Sam: I think in terms of the work BHC does, there is something that happens when you're able to see yourself across the table from someone who sees you and understands you, from a cultural perspective. That's why it's important for us to be here in the university to serve the students. I myself do this work with BHC because when I was younger, I was looking for mental health support and couldn’t find somebody. And when I did, when I found somebody who looked like me and understood me, it had a profound impact on my own well-being. And so that's what's motivated the work that I do.  

Elana: At Wellness, we've had a difficult time recruiting Black therapists and service providers for lots of different reasons, which leaves a void in what services we’re able to provide. And this isn’t just a Concordia problem: if you go across universities in Quebec and you did a poll how many Black psychologist or psychotherapists are on staff, you likely wouldn’t have many, or even any. This is a systemic issue across universities.  

My belief is that if we can't provide the services for students within our own house, then it’s important that we be creative and look outside. It might not be exactly the same thing, but it has to be something that helps students feel that their needs are being met and that their mental health is being cared for.

There’s a lot of biases against the universities; that they’re very strict or in this certain box. Working with Wellness is an example for me that no, there’s actually folks in the university that are trying to think and work differently.

Sam: The experience so far has been completely different from the experience you normally have in institutions. It's been quite enlightening and wonderful to work not just on “mental health” but on wellness more broadly. To be able to work with people who are prioritizing collaboration, not just in like “give me things” way, but through actual interactions and building closeness, has been really lovely.  

Elana: I think [partnerships like this] challenge us. It challenges us to think “outside the box “and not be as traditional as we are. When you look at the field of mental health, I think we are still a very traditional field. You know how it goes: a student comes in, they sit at the chair, we talk, do therapy for an hour and then they leave. But I'm not sure that those are really the best ingredients for everyone and in every instance. I think we need to be more creative in our service offerings. More service offerings that meet the needs of students. And that's one of the benefits of learning from BHC: how they do their care circles, what they offer, what their Community Care Practitioners offer to students. Even just in our planning meetings I’m learning about what students want or what's going to be helpful to them...those are quite valuable interactions.  

Sam: Being able to form partnerships like the one with Campus Wellness is really beneficial for the students but also for us. It’s also been a learning journey for me. There’s a lot of biases against the universities; that they’re very strict or in this certain box. Working with Wellness is an example for me that no, there’s actually folks in the university that are trying to think and work differently. 

Last question - what are you looking forward to now?

Elana: Well, I'm looking forward to seeing some of the impacts of the project. BHC will be collecting feedback through both the workshop sessions this year and the collective care circles, which will be really important for us as we plan and attempt to sustain this resource beyond this year. Not even sustain, but also potentially expand so we can support more and more students! 

Sam: Ditto!