It is World Mental Health Awareness day.
Dr. Elizabeth Cawley is the Regional Mental Health Coordinator for the The Association of Atlantic Universities.
She oversees 20 universities across Atlantic Canada, to ensure they are provided with the supports they need and the best initiatives to deal with mental health for students, “What mental health is, the state where you are functioning to the best of your capabilities. We want to make sure that the students have this capability, not only while they are students, but for the rest of their lives. The students will be getting the same types of services, whether they are at one of the big schools like Dalhousie, or one of the smaller schools like Mount Allison. There are strategic initiatives and best practices that we are going to be implementing at each of those schools, that will really benefit those students.”
Dr. Cawley says the number one ask from students right now, is for financial investments into the different services that are required on campus.
World Mental Health Awareness Day was first celebrated in 1992. It educates and raises awareness and advocacy against social stigma.