The 2023 AMS Services report states that the number of severe cases and students reporting suicide to Peer Support is at an all time high.
Peer support is an AMS service that offers students free mental health support and harm reduction education.
This year, Peer Support saw 533 interactions, nearly double the 221 interactions seen in 2020/21.
At the AMS Council meeting on May 31, Services Manager Kathleen Simpson said of 90 one-on-one sessions, 42 per cent involved disclosure of suicidality.
Simpson said “it's hard to generalize about what is leading to more students needing access to mental health supports,” but had a few explanations.
One of the larger issues noted by Simpson was students still processing the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also spoke about "overburdened long-term resources." In the Council meeting, Simpson said Peer Support had taken in people previously on the UBC counselling waitlist.
UBC’s campus security report also showed an increase in the number of mental and wellness checks needed.
While Simpson could not speak to the wait time of UBC counselling or how many students they absorbed, she did say Peer Support was an easily accessible option for students.
“We're an incredibly low barrier service so students can come with or without an appointment and drop in to get a session the same day,” said Simpson.
Simpson also mentioned the "contributing factors of affordability are really kind of playing into some of the mental health impacts that we're seeing on campus."
The past year, students have expressed concerns about affordable housing, food and tuition prices.
"This was the first year ... we saw the kind of larger number of more serious cases, and so a lot of our staff dedication was kind of focused on that area," said Simpson.
Simpson said staff and volunteers receive 25 to 30 hours of training and a minimum of 6 to 12 hours of supervised practice sessions.
The report also states staff follow ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) by the “the Crisis Centre to be able to provide further support in emergency situations.”
“Responding to suicidality and doing safety planning with folks … are really one of the major focuses for those practice sessions,” said Simpson.
Simpson also said the AMS is increasing the number of peer supporters to ensure staff are not being burnt out.
She also said volunteers have the opportunity to speak with team leads to debrief, and these debriefs are "mandatory for all … [the] more serious sessions that take place."
Peer Support expenses ran under budget this year because "of not fully utilizing event and special projects costs," explains the report.
"Now that we've had our first run through with that, and we're setting up additional steps to make sure that we're ready for it, we're really keen to do more ... wellness themed events that were incredibly popular with students and we're really keen to bring those back this year," said Simpson.
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