Hardin-Simmons creates Mental Health Peer Mentor program

(ABILENE, Texas)–Hardin-Simmons University has created a new Mental Health Peer Mentor Program to help raise awareness about mental health. Four students were hired when the program was launched last spring to lead the program and assess student needs on campus. On World Mental Health Day, the Mental Health Peer Mentors hosted a booth in Moody Student Center as well as a casual meet and greet for students to meet each mentor and discuss what needs on campus are needing to be addressed.

On World Mental Health Day, the Mental Health Peer Mentors raised awareness with a booth in Moody Student Center.

Similar to the Peer Mentor program for First Year Seminar courses, the Mental Health Peer Mentor positions were created to bridge the gap between students and staff members. Aiming to normalize the concept of mental health, HSU Director of Counseling Services Nikki Rhodes stated the four peer mentors will host special events throughout the year and will be available to the student body for any suggestions regarding personal student needs.

“One-on-one counseling has been a very beneficial tool for many people,” said Rhodes. However, she explained that many students are afraid to speak to a staff member. These students are afraid of being dismissed, told it’s all in their head, or even that these feelings are just due to stress. With this new program in place, students have opportunities to speak with their peers on their own terms, in their own space, and in their own way.

“Getting people together to connect,” is the overall goal for this project, according to Rhodes. With events such as the meet and greet held in early October, there are several opportunities for students to get to know each mentor as an individual person rather than only as a mentor. By doing so, it helps students feel more comfortable with reaching out for help with anxiety, depression, or any other mental health needs.

HSU’s Mental Health Peer Mentors asked students to write down their responses to the prompt, “Love is Louder Than…”

Each mentor has gone through training with Rhodes to understand the importance of their role as a Mental Health Peer Mentor. Students will continue to have more training throughout the year as the needs of the student body change.

“My hope is that the Mental Health Peer Mentor program will encourage conversations on campus,” said Miranda Stewart, Mental Health Peer Mentor. “We want everyone to have a place they can go where they feel safe and known, and in starting dialogue about mental and emotional wellness on campus, we hope that we are creating those spaces and helping students to, in turn, do the same for each other.”

For more information about the program or to speak to someone regarding mental wellness, contact any of the four mentors via email. Miranda Stewart (chloe.m.stewart@hsutx.edu), Hannah Neighbors (hen1610@hsutx.edu), Josh Pruitt (Joshua.M.Pruitt@hsutx.edu), or Maranda Westbrook (mmw1710@hsutx.edu). For counseling services, contact Nikki Rhodes at Nikki.Rhodes@hsutx.edu, or call 325-670-1944.