This week’s article is on normalizing resources! Students encounter a selection of diverse experiences throughout their Acadia experience, so why do people expect students to benefit from the same set of resources? Acadia Mental Health Initiative strongly promotes mental wellness through events, office hours, social media, and resource advocacy. Cameron Smith (AMHI Coordinator) recently created 12 resource cards that enlist many contacts per card to explore either in person, online or via phone. The cards highlight the importance of a wide variety of resources for the diverse situations of Acadia students. You’ll notice AMHI’s Instagram page is gradually releasing the cards, but the Athenaeum Newspaper luckily gets a sneak peek that we would love to share with you. The resource cards focus on resources for dealing with grief, ADHD, addiction, gambling, trans support, peer support, eating disorders, stress, self-harm, international students, men’s mental health, and PTSD. AMHI reminds students that “these cards are made specifically for Acadia students, but some resources such as provincial or general websites will work for anyone who needs them” (AMHI Instagram). If any of these topics resonate with you, the resource cards are savable on Instagram, physical copies are encouraged upon request and are now available in this article below.
Please share these resources with your family, friends, and co-workers. You never know who is suffering from any of these struggles. Resources occasionally blur into the background on campus because of their high importance and either over-coverage or under-coverage depending on the week; however, people pay attention when a person of trust relays the resources. Normalize picking up one of these cards when going through a hard time, or better, normalize handing them to friends and those you love. If businesses and organizations habitually hand out their cards for work-related purposes, passing along cards concerning mental health should be equivalently normal.
