New Jersey expanding mental health support to college students. Here's how it works
MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- New Jersey state leaders announced an expansion of a program to provide mental health help to college students Tuesday.
That means free access to tele-therapy 24/7, 365 days a year for even more college students across the state.
State leaders announced Tuesday the expansion of its partnership with mental health and wellness platform Uwill for two more years.
Money for the program, which will run until April 2026, comes from American Rescue Plan funds that were specifically allocated by the state to improve access to mental health.
Officials say program is "meeting a need"
Since launching in New Jersey one year ago, Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges says about 11,000 students across 45 participating colleges and universities have signed up for the digital platform.
"Sixty-one percent, to be exact, of the students who signed up for the platform had never used their campus counseling center previously, so we're meeting a need," Bridges said.
Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell spoke of that need.
"We haven't been immune from the national trend that has seen a rapid increase in student distress and, let's be frank about it, that has meant loss of life on this campus, tragic loss of life," Koppell said.
He said the mental health resource isn't a "nice to have," it's a "need to have," and now students at Montclair State will have it even longer.
"There is no reason why any young person should struggle alone and now, for any college student in this state, they won't have to," Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way said.
Montclair State students stress the importance of Uwill
From the pandemic to social media and academic pressure, students these days are juggling a lot.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and New Jersey is making sure college students have access to support all day, every day.
Students are capturing their last memories at Montclair State University before commencement on Monday.
"It's very exciting for sure," senior Emily Perri said.
While graduation means Perri's time at the school is up, she was happy to learn the a program offering free access to mental health support will stay.
"It's a lot more common to talk about mental health now and the importance of it," Perri said.
"I've really enjoyed my experience, personally, and I've heard many great things because mental health care can be expensive sometimes, especially for a college student," junior Z Hsu said.