Amidst mental health concerns, Riverside City College is providing a community space and offering resources to address student needs.
Located in the Ralph H. Bradshaw Student Center Heritage Room, RCC students gather every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to discuss mental health with their peers and professionals.
Wellness Wednesday is a workshop that aims to help students express themselves in creative ways. One of these ways is creative writing. The workshop held on Oct. 16 involved students creating a story about their life in 10 chapters and then explaining what those chapters meant to them.
“I feel we live in a moment where everyone is against each other,” said Jorge DelReal, a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee working for the program. “I think we need to help each other out.”
Wellness Wednesday is just one of many different mental health workshops available for students at RCC. Let’s Talk is available in front of the Bradshaw Cafeteria on Mondays and next to the auditorium on Thursdays. Let’s Talk allows students to connect with crisis counselors and engage in informal discussions where no topic is off-limits.
Tranquility Tuesdays can be accessed by students via Zoom. Students can participate in different wellness activities that help deal with stress, anxiety, and anger.
RCC’s mental health workshops are in partnership with Mighty Oak, a Christian-based counseling center. Mighty Oak is run by Dr. Bergin, a marriage and family therapist who also works with preschool services in San Bernardino and Easter Seals Child Development Centers.
Kayla Hudson, an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist working in Wellness Wednesdays, said,” I’ve just been a part of the community for so long. I got to see these people’s lives change for the better.”
RCC has a wide range of services that can support students’ mental health needs, free of charge. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health in America has taken a turn for the worse. A report from Mental Health America found that a quarter of adults suffering from frequent mental anguish were not able to see a doctor due to cost, an increase from the previous year. RCC’s on-campus support is meant to tackle these numbers and improve mental health within the community.
“I think if we’re able to understand each other and help each other out it will go a long way. It could be mental health. It could be anything,” DelReal said.
The mental health workshops and services were announced in February earlier this year. It involved collaborating with 17 different community organizations. Student mental health is an issue that is not unique to RCC, but it is an issue that is trying to be dealt with. In a world that seems increasingly less optimistic, students can look to RCC for their variety of available resources.
