The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) launched a mental health campaign called #StudentsLetsAct, promoting action-based initiatives to encourage better mental health among students.
CASA is a student-advocacy organization made up of 21 representatives from post-secondary institutions across Canada.
The Students, Let’s Act initiative coincides with the popular mental-health campaign #BellLetsTalk, which is geared toward encouraging people to speak up about mental health and to combat social stigma around having mental health issues.
Emma Walsh, CASA advocacy director and the St. Thomas University Students’ Union vice-president of education, said in a press release that while starting conversations around student mental health is a positive step, it is important for students to “stand up and (demand)” more action.
According to the group, students face multiple risk factors for mental health issues after entering post-secondary education, including a change in support systems, increased pressure to do well academically, and responsibilities they have never had before. In addition, the age students enter post-secondary education is a common age for the onset of mental illness.
CASA proposed several action-based initiatives that the federal government could implement to improve conditions around student mental health, including expanding the criteria for the Canada Student Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities to apply to students with temporary mental health issues.
Currently, the federal government only offers the grant to students who meet the definition for students with permanent disabilities, among other criteria.
