HUMBER COLLEGE

This month, we’re focusing on mental health, just as the winter blues have thawed and summer is almost here.

I have provided many updates over the past year to fill you in on what Humber Lakeshore does to support the mental health and wellness of students, staff and the community. This month, I’d like to spotlight our students’ efforts.

Community Development degree student Nisha Haroon just graduated, but her capstone project will help inform future wellness initiatives at the college.

In September 2020, the President’s Office launched a series of monthly wellness sessions for Humber employees. Nisha’s research explored the positive impact of these sessions on employees in isolation and how to improve the sessions. She found that over 80 percent of participants consistently reported an improved mood and energy after participating in the sessions and that sessions that required physical activity were especially effective.

Work like Nisha’s has lasting impacts on our Humber community.

The first cohort of graduates from a new Humber certificate will soon be on the ground doing the same thing.

Humber College launched the Crisis Intervention and Trauma Supports certificate in September 2020 and the students complete the last of their six courses this month. There were 25 students in the program’s first course but this summer, 62 students enrolled in the “Supporting Families in Crisis” course – that’s a 250 percent increase! In this last class, learners complete a research assignment exploring family issues as they relate to crisis intervention and trauma. They’ll be challenged to think about who is impacted, the resources they can access, and how the family might process their experience. They will also identify therapeutic approaches and local resources, right here in the community.

In addition to new courses and initiatives to improve our community’s wellness, we’re trying to push the conversation forward. The Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre continues to offer programming around the virtual exhibition, “The Aesthetics of Mental Health.”

The Interpretive Centre recently released a video series that features the exhibition’s artists in conversation with hosts from Humber Lakeshore. They discuss how their work relates to the larger conversations around mental health today and reflect on the history of the Lakeshore Grounds. You can find the videos at the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre’s website.

If you’re looking for more ways to improve your mental well-being, get outside if you can. Here’s the perfect opportunity: Our annual GARDENS program in collaboration with the GARDENS Advisory Council and LAMP Community Health Centre is back. This year, LAMP CHC secured funding from the City of Toronto’s Live Green, Waste Management department. The funding will expand the GARDENS education program, offering workshops in person and online. The year-long program will focus on food waste diversion, emphasizing how to save money, change behaviour, and take action.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to reduce food waste and want to share your knowledge about ways to conserve, you may be interested in a Train the Trainer program for residents who want to advance their knowledge and become community leaders on the subject. The group will meet monthly.

For more information, contact Sandra Van at 416-252-6471 ext.239. or at sandrav@lampchc.org.

Best wishes, Derek Stockley

DEREK STOCKLEY

Principal, Lakeshore Campus Senior Dean, Faculty of Social and Community Services Follow on Twitter: @derek_stockley