In 2019, there were four student suicides at the University of Ottawa. Four young people took their lives at an institution that boasts about their mental health resources. With a minimum 4-month wait period to see a counsellor and little to no resources available within a student budget, it is easy to see how mental health issues can take over a student. This is absolutely unacceptable.

I am a student at the University of Ottawa. We don't need another copy and pasted email, we need someone to care. We can't wait 4-10 months to see a counsellor, we need more resources and funding — NOW. We need more support and understanding from faculty around student mental health becoming a priority and not just something to handle on your own. Students need to be mentally well in order to perform well in school. Without adequate mental health resources, prolonged wait times, and consultation rates beginning at $100 to see an external mental health professional, students can end up feeling overlooked and unsupported. Nobody should have to feel alone in their mental health battle. Nobody should ever feel like taking their own life is the answer.

So something needs to change. We need more resources. We need the support of the faculty that upholds this institution. How many more lives do we have to lose for the University of Ottawa to take this seriously? Sign this petition to show the University of Ottawa it’s time to improve mental health services now.