
Officials at StFX are ramping up a yearly mental health awareness event to help deal with the impacts of COVID-19.
The university’s annual Let’s Talk Day has been extended to a full week.
Shauna Grant-Smith, StFX’s community mental health nurse, tells The Hawk there is something happening every day.
“Everything, expect for one session, will be held virtually,” she says. “Each day has a different event and a different theme, all virtually.”
Grant-Smith says the pandemic has been hard on mental health.
She says she wants to help students make personal connections, despite events being mostly virtual.
“The only exception is the Friday event, which is a fireside chat with myself, that will be in person- the numbers are small, but we have allowed for two sessions on that afternoon,” she says. “There’s probably lots of students that are craving that in-person contact, so we’re lucky enough to have a large space that is allowable for that.”
Grant-Smith says that is so important to mental health.