New Website Aims to Increase Access to Mental Health Resources

LEAP Tampa Bay College Access Network – in conjunction with its college and community partners – has launched a new website, YourCollegeCares.org, to connect Tampa Bay college students to mental health resources.

Mental health issues can negatively impact a student’s quality of life and academic progress, with circumstances surrounding the pandemic exacerbating some of these issues. Many students are currently experiencing such challenges, with two in five college students experiencing depression and one in three students reporting anxiety (Roth, 2021). A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey showed that one in four people aged 18-24 had considered suicide in June 2020 (Amour, 2020).

Understanding the scope of students’ challenges, LEAP Tampa Bay partners took action. The collective impact organization worked to identify barriers college students face in accessing mental health services. As a result, Your College Cares was created to help destigmatize mental health support and increase access to existing resources on local college campuses and in the community.

“Your College Cares highlights the mental health resources our college partners make available for students and underscores why they make those services available…. because they want to support their students’ success managing the stressors of education and life in general,” said Denise Whitfield, Executive Director at NAMI Pinellas. “We want students to know that it’s ok to not be ok, and help is close at hand.”

In addition to resources made available by the colleges, YourCollegeCares.org highlights the mental health resources available through providers in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. It also includes informational articles on mental health and links to mental health resources.

“Humana is proud to support YourCollegeCares and this important resource for college students in our community,” said Dr. Albert Tzeel, Humana Regional Vice President-Health Services. “This pandemic has certainly taken a toll on the well-being of so many in our community, and we want to help provide our local college students with the help they need to maximize their well-being, their college experience and their future potential.”

Humana partnered with the Community Foundation Tampa Bay’s Nonprofit Needs List in support of Your College Cares and provided a $50,000 grant to support the creation of the website by LEAP partners.

YourCollegeCares.org is powered by LEAP Tampa Bay community partners working collaboratively to help students successfully finish their education beyond high school. College partners like the University of South Florida, Hillsborough Community College, Pasco Hernando College, and St. Petersburg College contributed to this site. Humana and population health community partners, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Community Foundation Tampa Bay, are also contributors.