Campus Comes Together in Support of Mental Health

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A combined effort on behalf of student and Institute leadership will provide an additional $1 million of expendable funds in support for new mental health programs and initiatives at Georgia Tech.

The Georgia Tech Student Government Association voted yesterday to allocate $500,000 in support of mental health initiatives and announced that President G.P. “Bud” Peterson had agreed to their request that the Institute provide an additional $500,000 in matching funds from Institute resources, to create a $1 million fund in support of mental health initiatives.

The combined $1 million will be disbursed based upon proposals and recommendations submitted to the Graduate Student Senate and Undergraduate House of Representatives by the Counseling Center, Stamps Health Services, or other organizations focused on student mental health and well-being. SGA will receive and review the proposals and then request matching funds from Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students John Stein.

"We will be able to do a lot of good with this,” said Undergraduate Student Government President Sujay Peramanu. “Student groups that have ideas about how to make improvements will be able to get the support to make it happen."

The funding allocation is in response to President Peterson’s recent message to campus announcing his intention to create four action teams, including one that that will focus on Mental Health and the counseling and psychiatric services available to students. The SGA actions are in addition to the $1 million endowment, previously established in support of campus mental health.

Peterson also announced the temporary lifting of the “16 session limit” on the number of visits students can make to the Counseling Center, to allow the Mental Health Action Team time to conduct a more thorough review of student needs and center capacity, and assess the overall impact.

“I want to credit the initiative of the graduate and undergraduate student body presidents, Skanda Prasad and Sujay Peramanu, respectively, for working with us in such a collaborative manner to identify these and other actions that will provide immediate support for our community,” Peterson said. “I continue to be impressed with the way in which the Georgia Tech community has come together during these difficult and challenging times.”