Offered through Student Health & Wellness, the聽 gives Dalhousie and King鈥檚 students in Halifax the opportunity to meet with other students who can provide them with safe mental health advice and support.
Tanaka Shumba and Juliana Gomes Pontes are the on-campus peer support workers for Dalhousie students.
Now in her second year of the Medical Sciences program, Tanaka had a difficult time adjusting to university life when she arrived at Dalhousie. It was her first time leaving her home in Zimbabwe and she was overwhelmed with school. She says she wasn't prepared mentally for university and the related stress, and had a two-week period during midterms when she obsessed over her courses while going through a rough patch of homesickness.
鈥淚 ended up finding someone to talk to who was also an international student and became aware about mental health,鈥� says Tanaka. She then went to the East Coast Student Leadership Conference and attended a session on mental health. That鈥檚 when her interest in mental health exploded and she has since volunteered for Break the Silence, Beat the Stigma and Dalhousie Defeat Depression Week. 鈥淚 started talking about mental health all the time.鈥�
Juliana (above) is now in her second year of the Master鈥檚 of Social Work program after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree, also in Social Work. Arriving in Halifax from her home in Brazil, she also had a difficult time adjusting to life at Dalhousie. She says international students often face challenges trying to adapt to a new university, a new city, a new country and sometimes a new language on their own.
鈥淲hen you come here by yourself, you don鈥檛 have your community to support you, and maybe you鈥檙e not familiar with how things work here,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was the only international student in my class. No one was experiencing what I was experiencing and I didn鈥檛 know about the peer support program. If I did, I probably would have used it quite often.鈥�
Personal connections
In order to become peer support workers, Juliana and Tanaka underwent 16 hours of training adapted from the Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Certified Specialist Program. They also have monthly workshop meetings with other peer support workers from Saint Mary鈥檚, NSCAD, Mount Saint Vincent and King鈥檚 as a part of the Stay Connected Mental Health Project.
Both Tanaka and Juliana have had previous struggles with their mental health, which is a core component of the peer support program. They say it allows students to connect with them on a more personal level.
鈥淚t gives people hope in the recovery process,鈥� says Juliana. 鈥淵ou can see someone who was in the same place as you, and now they have recovered and are able to provide support to someone else.鈥�
"I feel like sometimes you can feel like no one understands, but we're just here to listen,鈥� says Tanaka (above). 鈥淚t's free, it's nonjudgmental, it's safe, and it's confidential. Peer support is not counselling; this is peer-to-peer interaction. We鈥檙e here to offer guidance, listen and steer you in the right direction.鈥�
Juliana speaks highly of the benefits of a peer support program as a preventative tool for students 鈥� particularly because they can visit during office hours at their own convenience when they want someone to talk to who will provide some emotional support.
鈥淪ometimes people just need to talk,鈥� she says. 鈥淢aybe you don鈥檛 need a specific form of treatment, but having that conversation enables you to cope with the situation better.鈥�
Different types of support
If necessary, they will also refer students to other services on campus such as the Student Health & Wellness Centre and advisors in the students鈥� particular programs or at the Bissett Student Success Centre.
Juliana says the most important step of the recovery process is realizing you are not OK and asking for help. 鈥淒alhousie has a lot of resources, so students should use them!鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e included in student fees 鈥� you don鈥檛 have to pay more. We鈥檙e here for free to provide support for students. You don鈥檛 have to go through this process by yourself 鈥� there is help available.鈥�
Both Juliana and Tanaka say it鈥檚 important for students to practise their own self-care skills. This could include things like planning and preparing for things in advance (especially schoolwork) to avoid preventable stressors, talking to friends and family, listening to music, and taking some time to not think about school. But most of all, go easy on yourself.
鈥淔orgive yourself 鈥� don't be too hard on yourself,鈥� says Tanaka. 鈥淪chool is important, but it's not everything. Just聽celebrate the small victories.聽You woke up and got out of bed, yay! You made it to class, yay! You finished an assignment, yay!鈥�
Juliana and Tanaka are available to meet with students in the DSU Wellness Room (basement of the Student Union Building), Monday to Thursday from 4-6pm.