Stella’s Place has been supporting the development, hiring, supervision, training and evaluation of the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU) Peer Support Program.
Learn More About the Partnership
This partnership was created to acknowledge and better meet the needs of young adults experiencing mental health challenges on campus.
With the support of the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health, we created a virtual drop-in space where students are able to meet and greet with the UTMSU Staff, and the Peer Support Volunteers within the program. In addition, students are able to engage in one-on-one Peer Support appointments with fellow students who have been trained by Stella’s Place. The volunteers are able to help validate some of the difficult experiences that university students are going through and speak about their own coping skills and strategies for managing stress.
They can also help ensure that students are able to connect with meaningful and relevant resources that can further support their wellbeing.
Stella’s Place is proud to continue to support this initiative in various ways. This includes weekly meetings with the UTMSU Executive team and monthly Community of Practice meetings for the Peer Support Volunteers. We also have ongoing supervision of the program by our Stella’s Place Clinicians, and ongoing training for future student volunteers.
If you are a UTM student and interested in learning more, head to the UTMSU website.
“The partnership between the UTMSU and Stella’s Place has allowed the UTMSU to create an evidence-based Peer Support program for students, by students. Empowering students to help support fellow students has been a great way to try to meet the need of supporting student wellbeing. We look forward to the further development of this project as we aim to support students online and in-person this academic year”
–Mitra Yakubi, UTMSU President
