Over the last year, the stressors of the two pandemics—COVID-19 and racial injustice—have negatively impacted the mental health of college students. Especially students of color.
Compared to 21% of White students, 34% of students of color indicated they were “very worried” about being exposed to COVID-19 on campus. Additionally, occurrences of racism on a daily basis have resulted in increased anxiety, depression and feelings of loneliness, the Steve Fund reported.
Even prior to COVID-19, students of color were less likely to seek out mental health resources. According to the Steve Fund, 26% of Black students, 23% of Asian-American students and 33% of Latino students with mental health struggles received treatment, compared to 46% of White students.
To break down the stigma and encourage more people to seek help, Togetherall, an online service, is providing students the opportunity to share their mental health challenges in an anonymous environment online.
By offering a peer-to-peer mental health community, students can connect with others who are experiencing similar experiences.
“Our major goal is to democratize access to mental health support, to try to reach as many students as possible,” said Matthew McEvoy, senior vice president and general manager of Togetherall in North America. “I think a lot of institutions are in a position to help do that. The pandemic has brought to light the need for this optionality. As demand for mental health services grows, there is a need to look at different ways to approach that.”
Conversations are monitored by licensed and registered mental health practitioners. Their job is stimulate conversations between students and identify available resources and to intervene if topics such as self-harm are discussed.
