Goucher College receives grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services for the Gopher Mental Health Initiative

Goucher College is placing a premium on mental health, and thanks to a new grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the college is able to expand psychoeducational programming and outreach to its students. The grant is a first from the SAMHSA for Goucher and is part of the government’s Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program.

“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant allows us to provide much-needed additional support to incoming and continuing students managing the known and unknown mental health and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Aarika Camp, Ph.D., Goucher’s vice president for student affairs.

The grant will allow Goucher’s Student Counseling Center staff to enhance existing annual events like Fresh Check Day, I Will Listen Week, and Happiness Hunt events, as well as take steps to increase access to mental health services and conduct more outreach to those in need. The grant will also help fund mental health training for faculty and professional development for the college’s clinical staff.

“Tending to mental health is an essential part of being a college student,” says Lauren Greenberg, the program’s director and director of the college’s Student Counseling Center. “I’ve found that our students are tremendously help-seeking, engaged, encouraging, and invested in mental health journeys. I am eager to have an opportunity to expand and enhance mental health resources because of how greatly Goucher students value their well-being.”