When I arrived at The College of Wooster in the summer after my junior year of high school, I had a million questions to ask the tour guide. Most are hauntingly familiar now, things like “How’s the food?” and “What’s I.S. like?” but the hardest for her to answer was the most important to me: “What mental health resources do you have on campus?”
I’ve lived with mental illness since I was nine, and for over 11 years I’ve struggled to scrounge together the right support to help me get well and stay that way. When I came to campus, I knew things would be different, but I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would become.
It’s hard to find mental health care in most places, but with the onset of 75 percent of chronic mental illnesses occurring by age 24 and the growing need for mental health services on college campuses, I thought things would be better, or at the least, improving. I was wrong.
Four counselors for 2,000 students. The Center for Collegiate Health determined that approximately 48.7 percent of college students went to a counseling appointment during the 2012-2013 school year, which is 974 students on our campus. That’s about 244 students per counselor. It’s a four-month-long waiting list. It’s students without care. It’s unacceptable.
For students taking medications for mental illnesses, the situation can be even more grim. I’m lucky enough to only live two and a half hours from my home, with a grandfather that loves lugging me back and forth to see my psychiatrist at home. Since the College doesn’t have a psychiatrist on staff, and it takes over six months to get an appointment with one in town, I didn’t have much of a choice. For those who do get an appointment in Wooster, the question becomes how they can get there. Most students don’t have cars on campus, and the bus doesn’t stop anywhere near the locations. Many have given up; they know the situation and are resigned to not attempting to get help in the first place. Others try to get help and fail — some have had terrible experiences with the resources that are available. That’s the thing about mental health care: sometimes the care that is available isn’t right for you.
Maybe you’re lucky enough to not have this issue affect you, or anyone you love, but the fact remains: one in five adults will experience a mental illness, and suicide is the third leading cause of death from ages 15-24. College students are at risk, and we don’t have the resources to help those who do get sick. It could be you. It could be your friend. We need to advocate for our mental health. We deserve better, and I urge you to come support Mind Matters on Thursday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Babcock basement at our first interest meeting. The members are committed to establishing a channel of communication with the administration to get this campus the resources it desperately needs. We’re striving to be the change we want to see on campus, and we need you to help us do it.
Kathryn Scott, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at KScott21@wooster.edu.