Peer Listeners in the time of Timely Care
Mia Martino - Features Editor
With the retirement of Cindy Beadles and the installment of TimelyCare as Monmouth College’s primary mental health service, it is important to get to know the different mental health resources available on campus. A critical part of Monmouth’s aid in the mental wellbeing of students are the psychology department’s Peer Listeners, led by Dr. Greenwalt. Monmouth’s Peer Listeners are a group of psychology students that work together to help students through mental health struggles. “We're basically here for students that need a listening ear, overall tips for stressors, or help accessing counseling or stuff like that,” said Peer Educator Kalista Merrill. Bindi Gosney also added, “Since we are losing our only counselor on campus at the end of this month, we are also here to make sure everyone knows how to use the online talk-therapy that is going to be used soon. Also, we are the front line people on campus for mental health.” Together, the Peer Listeners are working to provide helpful information on the new mental health services that are being offered. Students are advised to reach out to a Peer Educator with any questions.
The Peer Listeners are widely available on campus, with varying hours and locations throughout the week. “We're in the CSB, we’re in Hewes, and we’re also in the Huff,” said Fatima Gutierrez, another Peer Educator. “We have multiple hours per day with multiple different people. We have our hours posted everywhere around campus, we also have it posted on our Instagram account. Every single professor also has access to our hours,” said Merrill. The Peer Listeners can be found on Instagram at @mocomhpe where they post information about mental wellness and what they are up to on campus. They are also planning more events for the rest of the semester, according to Peer Listener Nyla Jackson, “We also hand out a lot of different fidget toys to help with attention,” said Jackson. “We’re going to be handing out positivity cards during finals and midterms. Just resources and positive coping mechanisms to help make college smoother.”
Students are encouraged to educate themselves on the resources for mental health that are provided by Monmouth College. See @mocomhpe for more information about hours and events.