Summit to address mental health, addiction issues on Alberta campuses

Students, faculty, and staff as well as government and community partners will come together on June 2 at the University of Calgary to inspire action to address mental health and addiction issues on Alberta campuses.

The SU Wellness Centre will host the third annual Wellness Summit, Inspiring Action for the Alberta Post-Secondary Mental Health and Addiction Framework, which will provide a forum for continued provincial-level dialogue, with the specific goal of collaborating on elements of the Alberta Post-Secondary Mental Health and Addiction Framework.

The event will feature a keynote lecture by Dr. Corey Keyes as well as a student changemaker panel, and an afternoon of collaborative framework-building and discussion led by leaders from a variety of institutions. The ultimate goal of these discussions is to co-create a framework that will provide Alberta post-secondary institutions with ideas on how to address mental health and addiction issues, and will be adaptable to each local institutional context.

“Over the past few months, there has been much conversation and work done to begin creating the provincial framework,” say Ashley Humeniuk, facilitator, Provincial Mental Health Strategy. “The intent of the summit is to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to take this work to the next level; to discuss specific strategies for addressing mental health and addiction issues on campus and to explore and expand on the elements we believe are most meaningful and relevant for the provincial framework.” 

This event builds from the last two wellness summits that encouraged attendees to explore ways to create healthier campus communities.  

“There is growing momentum to redesign campus communities to support students, faculty and staff to flourish, not just here at the University of Calgary, but also across the province,” says Debbie Bruckner, senior director, Student Wellness, Access and Support.

“It is invaluable to come together with other provincial partners to share ideas, best practices, and design a common approach to how we look at these issues on our campuses,” adds Susan Barker, vice-provost (student experience).

This year’s summit will take place in the Alberta Room of the Dining Centre. A tentative schedule for the Wellness Summit is available online. Registration fees to attend the conference are $45 and post-secondary students are offered a discounted rate of $20. This fee includes continental breakfast and lunch, as well as all activities for the day. Registration for the conference will close on Thursday, May 28, or when capacity is reached.