“Students, faculty and staff across all of Miami’s campuses will have one place to look for mental health resources,” said Jen O’Brien, director of communications for Student Life. “It’s a work in progress. We’ll continue to fine tune it to make sure we’re meeting the needs of all of our populations.”
Besides its main Oxford campus, Miami has regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown and a Learning Center next to the VOA Metro Park in West Chester Twp. with more than 8,200 employees.
O’Brien said there are specific wellness navigators now available online for students at Miami’s Oxford campus and for students attending the regional campuses, as well as for faculty and staff.
The navigators operate like a decision tree, helping users find resources based on their responses to a number of questions, officials said in announcing the new website.
“We recognize that mental health is a dynamic aspect of your overall well-being, requiring different levels of support at different times,” states the website. “We use a stepped care approach to meet you where you are and help you thrive. Whether you’re proactively maintaining your mental wellness, feeling overwhelmed, or needing urgent support, we are here to connect you with the resources you need.”
Combining resources into one location was also a goal for the new site, said officials.
“We have so many good mental health resources to offer, but people don’t always know about them,” O’Brien said. “This website makes it easier for everyone to find what they need.”
The revamped website was part of the recommendations presented by Miami University’s Institutional Task Force on Student, Faculty, and Staff Mental Health and Well-Being late last year.
An updated website was high on the list of priorities coming from the task force’s recommendations and a nearly $1 million grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education designed to bolster mental health services was instrumental in advancing the project.
Development and construction of the site took about nine months.
“The grant really enabled us to put this together,” said Jayne Brownell, senior vice president for Student Life at Miami. “We had a comprehensive plan on how we would use that money, and we knew the website was a big part of our wish list.”
More than 125 resources, including websites, services, videos, and tools, are linked on the new site. Users can filter resources based on campus location, audience, type of care, and topics.
“A group of staff, students, and faculty was committed for nearly a year to building this site,” Brownell said. “It’s easy to use, it’s comprehensive, and I like how intuitive it is.”
“We hope people will take advantage of the site for their own well-being and to help others around them.”
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