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Assiniboine receives $25k funding grant to support research into student well-being

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Assiniboine receives $25k funding grant to support research into student well-being

Assiniboine received a $25,000 Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary Fund Kickoff grant to support the college’s research into student well-being, which is in alignment with the National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students.

“The mental health and well-being of our students and employees is a top priority for Assiniboine Community College. This particular funding will support research into student well-being at Assiniboine through the hire of a researcher to administer and present the findings of the internal audit tool provided in The National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students,” said Brandy Robertson, Wellness Student Success Advisor at Assiniboine. “If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that taking care of our mental health is essential, especially for students, who are at a critical point in their lives.”

Through this funding the college will host student-led focus groups to gather qualitative research results related to specific subjects such as inclusion, success, support, and wellness. The results from the focus group findings and the internal audit will be used to establish a firm understanding of student well-being at Assiniboine.

Bell awarded more than $3 million in funding to 123 post-secondary institutions across Canada who will each receive a $25,000 Kickoff Grant.

“Bell is committed to supporting student mental health and we were pleased to see so many post-secondary institutions apply for funding – such a great response in fact that we increased total funding for the initiative by almost 25% to more than $3 million,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk in a news release issued earlier today by Bell. “These grants will help colleges and universities across the country accelerate the important work they’re doing to support student mental health and well-being. We look forward to building on their progress with more funding later this spring for schools implementing new initiatives aligned with the Standard.”

In June, Bell Let’s Talk will launch a second phase of the Post-Secondary Fund with implementation grants for institutions that have used the Standard to identify specific gaps or needs in their mental health support services and are building new initiatives to address them.

The National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students provides a set of guidelines to help increase awareness, reduce stigma, improve life and resiliency skills, and create a healthier and safer educational environment overall. Bell Let’s Talk funding helped enable the creation of the Standard, led by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

To see a complete list of universities and colleges that received a $25,000 kickoff grant, please view Bell’s full list of recipients here.