According to a report by the University of Toronto, around 5.8 million people experienced food insecurity in Canada in 2021.
This semester, I’ve dealt with a lot of frustration. I’m sure that’s something a lot of students can relate to.
I’ve found myself reaching out to various student supports here on campus. Our program, Digital Communications and Media, has heavily promoted reaching out to Wellness Services for mental health support. We did a social media campaign specifically for them as well as an entire Endeavour issue dedicated to mental health. I’m very proud to have worked on these things and I do think Wellness Services is a great resource.
Imagine my surprise when I reached out and it turned out I couldn’t get a counselling appointment.
I’ve been in an extremely rough place since January. I’ve been stressed and more depressed than I have been in a long time. I deal with physical as well as mental health problems, so it’s all culminated in being exhausted all the time. I’ve skipped so many classes this semester to save energy for assignments. All while I’ve been seeking an ADHD diagnosis.
Objectively, I am someone in need of mental health support.
I was devastated when I realized the support I had been promoting was functionally unavailable to me. The waitlist was so long that it took two months for me to get an appointment.
That’s far too long for someone who is barely functioning.
This isn’t anyone’s fault here at the college and I’m not upset at any person here. Once I finally got that appointment, it was an incredible relief. The counsellor I met was very kind and helpful to me.
Things are just as complicated behind the scenes as they are for students. The number of staff is too great for the space Wellness Services currently has available, according to Lynda Church, a student support nurse at Lethbridge College.
“I have heard others mention that it’s become busier since COVID-19 in 2021 and 2022. This generation struggled over the last couple of years due to COVID-19. It was harder on people than they may even realize. Thankfully, we’re reducing the stigma in mental health and this has prompted acceptance that mental health is just as important, and wholly connected to physical and over-all health and well-being,” said Church.
The rising need for support from Wellness Services contributes to how long the wait list is. I had been told several times that they’re working on hiring another counsellor. They did get someone who started earlier this month.
I’d still recommend reaching out to Wellness Services for counselling but I think students should be aware there is a wait attached to it. Reaching out for help is already hard enough. To hear they can’t help you for an undetermined amount of time after taking that step is absolutely devastating.
The student support nurses like Church can lend a listening ear any time which can still be helpful to students finding resources. Sometimes just having someone who will listen to you is enough. Student support nurses can also help connect people with counsellors or other resources in the community.
The triage RN is there 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and can assist students who are having physical ailments or mental health struggles, to listen and connect students with various services as well.
Another student support with an undisclosed wait time is the food bank.
I reached out to the LCSA food bank this month for support. There’s very little information on Lethbridge College’s website about the food bank, except for how to donate. I find it frustrating there is no information on how it runs.
The LCSA food bank is in CE1350.
Personally, I would recommend emailing them first instead of just popping down there. Angela Fretts-Waters, association services coordinator, from the LCSA also recommends emailing them before dropping by. You will have to fill out paperwork about your name, student number and address. Then you select food preferences from a list.
Afterwards, you have to book an appointment to pick up your food. Usually, the wait is about a week.
I was lucky enough to be able to pick my food up the day after I filled out the paperwork, but that idea of waiting a week for food is incredibly frustrating to me. Food is essential. People can’t go a week without eating, especially students who are at school for eight hours a day. Some may be working, have a practicum, do extracurriculars and all of us have mountains of assignments. We need the energy.
With the LCSA food bank, I would say if you urgently need food, go to the Lethbridge Food Bank on 2 Avenue instead. However, if you can wait a little bit, the LCSA is very convenient because its on campus.
“The wait time for food hamper pick up changes based on the number of students accessing the food bank. Food bank access has increased this year, so I have had to adjust the pick-up schedule accordingly to keep up with the demand. In the past we have never seen this many students accessing our student food bank, so this is all very new, and we are doing our best to adjust to help those that are needing us,” said Fretts-Waters.
There have been several changes to how the LCSA food bank runs to meet student demand, which does account for the wait times.
Fretts-Waters said this year has been unlike anything they’ve ever experienced and they are doing their best to meet the needs of Lethbridge College students.
These services provide important resources to some of the most vulnerable people in the college community but it’s so difficult to get information and access to them. Overall, I do feel like the student supports are trying their best to provide for the college community in a time where there’s a high demand and a lot of change. However, I can’t ignore they are falling short in some areas. I would not have been upset about the food bank wait if I’d known about it before I reached out.
Going forward, I would love to see better open distribution of information from Lethbridge College about these services. Disclosing wait periods is important when offering the support services that the college does. Wellness Services and the LCSA food bank are aware there are problems and seem to be trying to adjust. They are still worth reaching out to.
