Riverland Active Minds
Meet our Peer Support Specialists
Become a Peer Support Specialist.
Riverland will train 12 Peer Support Specialists to increase student, staff, and faculty awareness and understanding of mental health issues and how these can affect personal and academic success.
Qualifications:
- Enrolled at Riverland Community College
- Maintain a 2.0 GPA
- References Required
Peer Support Specialist Recommendation Form
About Riverland Active Minds
Because of a $45,000 Grant from the Minnesota State colleges and universities at Riverland, students will be trained to become aware of, support, and refer their peer’s mental health needs. The new Riverland Active Minds Program, coordinated by Advocacy Services will train 12 Peer Support Specialists to increase student, staff, and faculty awareness and understanding of mental health issues and how these can affect personal and academic success. The Peer Support Specialists will provide mental health support, information, resources, and referrals to other Riverland students.
Minnesota State colleges and universities had the opportunity to apply for programmatic support for new mental health initiatives after the 2021 Legislative session appropriated funding to assist with student’s mental health concerns. The bill states “the program shall utilize student peers to support students living with mental health conditions on campus…the peer support program leaders must be trained to facilitate discussions on mental health, identify students who may be in crisis, and refer students to program for mental health support.”
The funding and creation of Riverland Active Minds will assist in identifying students in needs – before the situation becomes a crisis. Twelve Riverland students will be selected to complete an initial 20-25 hours of training to prepare them to provide peer support throughout campus. This funding and program emerge at a critical time for students at Riverland. Students selected will receive a $975 per semester stipend.
The Healthy Minds Study reported in Spring 2020, that 37 % of college students were depressed, 31% experience anxiety, 14% were thinking about suicide and 6% had developed a suicide plan (Inscore, 2020). Depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation has increased 14% since 2006 and the trend for college students is at a steeper incline and only 39% of the students in this study reported positive state of mental health. Race-based traumatic stress is “…the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes. In the U.S., Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) are the most vulnerable due to living under a system of white supremacy” (Mental Health America).
Riverland Active Minds Peer Support Specialist recruitment will begin immediately and training in incorporate cultural competency and the lived experiences of BIPOC people at this time in the global community. Learn more about our services, follow Advocacy Services @riverlandadvocacyservices on Instagram, or connect with Advocacy Services by emailing advocacy@riverland.edu
Students interested in being a trained Riverland Active Minds Peer Support Specialist must maintain a 2.0 GPA while enrolled at Riverland. Submit an application