To eliminate the stigma associated with mental health treatment, professionals recommend that HBCUs collaborate across systems and departments to raise awareness.
“Counseling departments can’t take it on all by themselves. Issues like suicide, domestic violence and rape come up on different levels,” said Dr. Angela Lee, a counselor at North Carolina Central University. “Campus police, counselors, resident assistants and the dean of students all need to be on the same page and send the same messages.”
One program offers promise. A group of undergraduate students from the University of Virginia are promoting mental wellness through a peer-counseling organization called Project RISE, Resolving Issues through Support and Education. Geared toward Black students, peer counselors aim to create a positive atmosphere in which students can get help, information and someone to talk to about their problems.
--Michelle J. Nealy
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