Sheridan’s health promoters continue to help students thrive, thanks to gift from SSU

On a grey, Monday afternoon, Erin Lind pushes a trolley up the ramp toward the carpeted, tiered lounge of C-Wing at Trafalgar Campus.

Lind, one of Sheridan’s two Health Promotion Specialists, is headed to set up for a Coffee, Chai and Chat session, a weekly occurrence at all three Sheridan campuses. And while hot drinks are the method of engagement, this really is about the conversation.

On this afternoon, a student is there waiting. Lind greets her with a smile and a warm hello, before sitting down to give her full attention … and to listen.

The conversations, which are done in a group and include other students acting as peer mentors, can cover just about anything. On this day it’s about self-advocacy and professional communication. Other subjects run the gamut from dealing with burnout and spiritual wellness, to maintaining relationships and tackling procrastination. The purpose, however, is always the same: to help students talk about what’s on their minds.

The chats are just one component of the job Lind and her colleague do for Sheridan’s 27,000 full-time and 4,000 part-time students. The idea is to help students stay healthy – physically, mentally, emotionally – instead of waiting for a crisis to arise. That’s the “promotion” part of their job titles and it plays a big part in what they do.

Proactive instead of reactive.

So much of the programming that the health promoters deliver is about informing and educating students: about eating well, sleeping well, managing their finances, navigating their social circles, you name it.

“That (Coffee, Chai and Chat) program has seen a lot of success over the last few years,” says Lind, “and just really cultivating meaningful conversations with students, creating a space that feels a little bit safer to open up and talk about things that are hard.

“We know how important (a sense of) belonging is to success,” adds Lind, who has been on the job since 2019.

The Sheridan Students Union (SSU) agrees with that ethos, as well as the holistic approach to supporting students. A $430,000 gift by the SSU in 2021 helped the health promoters sustain their roles – and they’ll continue in them now thanks to a $800,000 donation the SSU announced this February. That most recent gift will also create two new positions to further support the college's students: an International Student Engagement Coordinator and an Off-Campus Housing & Community Resource Coordinator.

“I think people that we educate about health promotion come to understand that it's so foundational to keeping students well and thriving so that they can be achieving their best.”

– Erin Lind, Health Promotion Specialist

The gift and the creation of the new roles are another layer to the SSU’s commitment to address student needs in all areas of well-being, whether that’s financial, physical, or mental health. Over the last 20 years, the SSU has donated $2.675 million in support of Sheridan students, via scholarships, bursaries, the roles of the health promotion specialists, or these two new positions.

“The SSU's goal is to build community. We are doing that by using an asset-based approach to make meaningful impacts for all students who attend Sheridan College,” said SSU president Ganyo Soh. “This gift and the creation of the new roles will improve both domestic and international students' social determinants of health and well-being. The SSU and Sheridan College have a shared commitment to improve the quality of life for all students, using innovative solutions to support issues students face daily.”

The way Lind and her team deliver that help comes in many forms. This Winter term, in addition to the ‘Coffee, Chai and Chat’ sessions, it includes things such as: College 101, which is an infographic series for tips on life skills that appear on TV across the campuses; The International Student Contest, which is a weekly initiative that aims to help non‑domestic students adjust to life in Canada and is available via the online student portal; and Nourish and Thrive, which is a weekly meal plan newsletter with budget-friendly recipes and cooking instructions.

The need for well-rounded supports has never been greater: A 2019 report by the American College Health Association, which surveyed over 55,000 students at 58 Canadian postsecondary institutions, including Sheridan, offered a revealing assessment of students’ health and well-being at the time. Notably, 29% reported sleep difficulties as a factor affecting their academic performance, 24.2% cited depression and 41.9% said stress was hindering them.

The study indicates that there’s no shortage of areas for Lind to cover.

“I think people that we educate about health promotion – whether that’s staff, faculty or the students themselves – come to understand that it's so foundational to keeping students well and thriving so that they can be achieving their best,” she says.

“We always tell students: your life also exists outside of the classroom. The more you utilize all the events, you're going to have a better experience on your (Sheridan) journey. And it will be that much more enriching. And you'll leave with a lot more tools than if you only just go to class.”

It’s a philosophy the SSU agrees with wholeheartedly.

“The Sheridan Student Union has a very strong pulse on their student needs and how you meet those needs,” says Lind. “That's where they see the value of health promotion. They understand that it's so foundational to student success.”

Students seeking health resources can find them on Sheridan Central’s page for student wellness.