We know not everyone needs clinical counseling services when they're experiencing a tough time, but sometimes a little extra boost of support during a particularly hard week or even semester can still be helpful when managing stress. Retriever Integrated Health provides free self-help and after-hours crisis resources to allow students to access help at whatever level they need.
Togetherall is a free online peer-to-peer community exclusively for college students, and offers a safe and anonymous place to get support with your mental health 24/7. Togetherall is monitored by licensed clinicians and is a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively and learn how to manage your mental health. Within the Togetherall platform, members are anonymous, so no one will know you’re using it unless you tell them. Most members report feeling better and more able to cope as a result of using Togetherall.
WellTrack Boost is designed to help students understand and manage their mental health. WellTrack offers self-paced courses focused on learning coping skills to manage concerns such as Depression, Anxiety and Stress. WellTrack also offers guided meditations, a journaling experience, and a mood tracker. The app or web-based service can be used on its own or in conjunction with counseling services, either at RIH or in the community.
WellTrack Connectis a search tool for students who are looking for a counseling provider in the community. Students can search by location, types of service, insurance, and preferred counselor traits. WellTrack Connect highlights counselors who have a specific area of expertise in working with college students.
Finally, Retriever Integrated Health provides after-hours crisis support by mental health professionals via Protocall. If a student is experiencing an immediate but non-life-threatening mental health crisis, they can call RIH at (410) 455-2542 and follow the prompts to be connected with a mental health provider. If a student is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, they should call Campus Police (410) 455-5555 or, if off-campus, 911.
It's normal to feel overwhelmed, lonely, or anxious from time to time, especially during college, and it's ok to reach out for help if you need it!
]]>Retriever Essentials has received a $18,360 Hunger-Free Campus Grant to support its student staff and programming. Hunger-Free Campus is a state grant program run by the Maryland Higher Education Commission that provides funding to Maryland public institutions of higher education and regional higher education centers to support efforts addressing food insecurity among students on Maryland campuses.
The purpose of the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program is to:
• Address student hunger.
• Leverage more sustainable solutions to address basic food needs on campus.
• Raise awareness of services currently offered on campus that address basic food needs.
• Build strategic partnerships at the local, state, and national levels to address food insecurity among students.
Retriever Essentials will use the funding to cover our student stipends, including support for Michael Fakus, who co-leads the Student Leadership Board. The board works on innovative projects that fill gaps in our program, such as food literacy and cooking skills, which is addressed through the annual cooking competition that Retriever Essentials will be running again this spring in collaboration with the UMBC Alumni Association and Dining Services. The grant funds will also cover stipends for students who lead Retriever Essentials gardening initiative and who oversee the 15 Community Service and Learning Practicum (PRAC 096) students who pack up extra meals after lunch at True Grits three times per week.
Assistant Director of Retriever Essentials Ariel Barbosa, MPS '24, community leadership, shared, “We are excited about how the Hunger-Free Campus Grant expands our capacity to ensure our student leaders are compensated for their incredible work! A huge thank you to the state for providing the funding and to UMBC’s Office of Sponsored Programs for their support in the application process.”
Please note: Retriever Essentials needs your help in providing winter clothes for students! Donations can be brought to the Essential Space’s new location in The Commons (in the former PNC offices next to the Bookstore.) UMBC and The Wisdom Institute are also hosting a winter coat drive on Tuesday, October 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Administration Circle (next to the Administration Building and the Retriever Activities Center).
On September 28, 2024, civic scholar Harry Boyte gave a keynote address at Ball State University’s Annual Civic Learning Conference in which he placed the Center for Democracy and Civic Life's work in the context of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Boyte referenced UMBC and the Student Government Association in his remarks: “The university and its Center for Democracy and Civic Life, the Student Government, and others have been national leaders in student empowerment for public purposes. They have been exemplary models for civic as well as individual achievement. They aim at a land where everyone is free.”
Boyte’s address also illuminated some of the philosophy enacted through the Center’s work: "developing [students'] capacities for making change for public, commonwealth ends," and supporting a democracy in which politics "is far more than partisan politics, in which citizens become 'publics,' not mobs or consumers."
In addition, UMBC President Emeritus Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, gave a keynote address at the conference. Boyte also noted Hrabowski’s role in Martin Luther King’s Children’s Crusade and his work to foster a civic dimension within UMBC’s culture.