A bill recently passed by the Associated Student Government (ASG), led by Student Senator Robert Hammes and Student Wellness Center directors, raised $4,000 to expand services at the Student Wellness Center for the Fall Semester of 2023.

“We, as student leaders, recognize that [mental health issues are] a huge struggle that we face within the valley, as well as on our campus. So, we stood up,” ASG President Cy Shimamura said. “The executive team, Senators and House of Representatives felt that this was such an important need that we have on this campus, so we want to take the initiative to head on this project.”

According to the Assistant Director of Student Advocacy and Health Jennifer Penick, this money will add five hours a week to the professional, Colorado-licensed counseling services here on campus for students.

“A lot of [the bill] was advised by the Student Wellness Center, [specifically] Jennifer Penick and Anna Lee Walker,” ASG Vice President Jason Hunter said. “We started with the five hours a week, because we wanted to use it as a means to trial its effectiveness. Then, if we end up needing more, it’s an option to move to 10 hours. This is at least starting that conversation and finding a way to do this program.”

Specifically, this bill will fund five additional hours for Licensed Professional Counselor Candidates (LPCCs). These are individuals who have a master’s degree in counseling, 700 hours of actual counseling experience, and will gain 1300 additional hours of experience at CMU under the supervision of Licensed Professional Counselors.

To make a comparison, LPCCs are like medical residents on their way to an MD or DO, who spend a period of time practicing medicine under the supervision of a fully licensed senior physician.

An immediate benefit of this fundraising effort is that $240 of the $4,000 will be used this Spring semester to help students with co-pays for counseling services. 

“The copays themselves were like the icing on top,” Hunter said. “We have so much money in reserves, […] and we saw the amount was $3,740 and [decided that] we have enough in the reserves to go ahead and help out with some of those copays as well, so why not?”

Additionally, there there is a 24/7 suicide hotline that can be reached simply by dialing 988, and there are campus religious groups willing to provide students with assistance free of charge and at any time.

“It’s important that we as students ensure that we’re self-advocating when we’re going through things. Nobody’s going to be able to read our minds, [so we need to] make sure that we utilize the resources that we have available, and recognize how blessed we are to have these resources,” Hunter said.