The AMS presented their student services interim report for 2023/24, which showed 17,773 user interactions from May — November and an increase in interactions across the board.
Most notably the AMS Food Bank saw an 83 per cent increase in usage compared to the same period last year, and Safewalk saw 1,197 user interactions, compared to the 800 annual interaction count last year.
“We expect Food Bank numbers to rise steadily. When I was talking to other food banks in the area, one person told me that they expect food bank usage to double every year for several years. What we’re seeing with the Food Bank is pretty on par with that,” said Kathleen Simpson, the AMS senior manager of student services.
To keep up with the increased demands for the Food Bank, Simpson said “we [are] well set up with the funding to be able to meet the demand … Within the food bank itself, staffing is a big piece.”
Simpson said to meet the demands of around 350 people coming through daily, permanent staff have doubled over recent years. The number of volunteers on the floor has gone from one or two to around ten at any given time. Simpson highlights the increase in staffing ensures that lines are as short as possible.
She also said there was better management of purchasement and inventorying.
“It has had great results for clients in making sure that we’re able to meet their needs throughout the day at the Food Bank, regardless if people come in at 12 or 7 o’clock when we’re closing,” said Simpson.
Another change in services was an increase in training for Peer Support, which saw a 37 percent user increase compared to the last year. Simpson said the training was to ensure staff and volunteers are more equipped to support clients who may be “in more distress” or “experiencing thoughts of suicide.”
“We have invested quite a lot of training for that area that has also provided great resourcing for the team.”
Simpson shared that during Term 2, they will focus more on transition planning, by hiring and training new student-paid coordinator positions to ensure that services can be set up for success next year, beginning with intake in March.
Simpson attributed the rise in services to the increased “awareness efforts” the AMS did.
Increasing awareness for services like AMS Advocacy, which saw 643 user interactions between May and November, is often tackled through the AMS newsletter and social media.
“You’ll see us doing more awareness information … when we know that students are more likely to need advocacy, and that’s really around the midterm and final period," said Simpson.
This year, AMS Services promoted Safewalk and Tutoring services to first-year students during orientation season and at Jump Start and Imagine Day.
Simpson also shared that she does not have "any specific concerns" about meeting demand for AMS Services this year.
“We are well positioned to meet the demand for each of our services.”
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