Langara College awarded Bell Let’s Talk grant in support of student health and wellness

Vancouver, BC – Langara College has been awarded a $25,000 Kickoff Grant from the Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary Fund to support the initial implementation of the National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students (the “Standard”). 

“It has been a challenging year for many of our students learning primarily remotely. Feelings of isolation and loneliness, food and housing insecurities, and anxiety over an uncertain future persist,” said Jody Gordon, Associate Vice-President, Students. “Thanks to the support of the Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary grant, Langara College will continue to address these challenges holistically through a peer-to-peer wellness model within the National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being framework." 

The funding will help support Langara’s Mental Health Framework, a comprehensive outline of Langara’s commitments and objectives to protect and promote the well-being of the Langara community. The Framework acknowledges the need to incorporate health promotion values and principles into Langara’s mission, vision, and strategic plan. 

In 2018, Langara became the first college in British Columbia to adopt the Okanagan Charter. The Charter calls on post-secondary institutions to embed health into all aspects of campus culture for students and employees. 

The Standard provides a set of guidelines to help increase awareness, reduce stigma, improve life and resiliency skills, and create a healthier and safer educational environment overall. Bell Let’s Talk funding helped enable the creation of the Standard, led by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). 

“Bell is committed to supporting student mental health and we were pleased to see so many post-secondary institutions apply for funding – such a great response in fact that we increased total funding for the initiative by almost 25% to more than $3 million,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “These grants will help colleges and universities across the country accelerate the important work they’re doing to support student mental health and well-being.” 

In June, Bell Let’s Talk will launch a second phase of the Post-Secondary Fund with implementation grants for institutions that have used the Standard to identify specific gaps or needs in their mental health support services and are building new initiatives to address them. 

Langara will also use the funding to implement findings from the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey it piloted as the first college in Canada, and inform policies and practices that support student health and well-being.  

To see a complete list of universities and colleges that received a $25,000 kickoff grant, please click here. 

About Bell Let’s Talk 
The largest-ever corporate commitment to mental health in Canada, Bell Let’s Talk is focused on 4 key action pillars: Anti-stigma, Care and Access, Research and Workplace Leadership. Since its launch in September 2010, Bell Let’s Talk has partnered with more than 1,100 organizations providing mental health supports and services throughout Canada, including hospitals, universities, local community service providers and other care and research organizations. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk. 

About Langara College 
Located in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., Canada, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 23,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara’s expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path. Langara is also known as snəw̓eyəɬ leləm 'house of teachings', a name given to it by Musqueam, on whose unceded traditional territory the College is located. 

Learn more. 
Mark Dawson 
Manager, Public Affairs 
Langara College 
mdawson@langara.ca