{"id":13817,"date":"2025-02-18T05:18:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T05:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/?p=13817"},"modified":"2025-02-18T05:21:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T05:21:21","slug":"building-a-supportive-campus-community-through-peer-connections-and-well-being-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/building-a-supportive-campus-community-through-peer-connections-and-well-being-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a supportive campus community through peer connections and well-being initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Srinidhi Pennathur, Cohort of 2022 – 2025, SIAS with a major in Psychology and a PSV volunteer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embrace is a peer support initiative by the Office of Student Life (OSL) in collaboration with Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) India and SIAS student volunteers, aimed at fostering student well-being. Under this initiative, the Peer Support Volunteers (PSVs) provide a non-judgmental space for students facing personal or academic challenges and serve as liaisons to mental health professionals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The rigour<\/strong>
<\/strong>Selected PSVs undergo two days of intensive SCARF training in primary mental health support \u2014 gaining skills in active listening, crisis de-escalation and effective referral \u2014 to offer immediate, empathetic assistance and guide peers toward professional care. Referral contacts include YourDost Counselling Services and SCARF for further psychological support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A safe space<\/strong>
Creating an open mental health discourse on campus de-stigmatises struggles and fosters an environment where students feel empowered to share their challenges, access peer support and connect with professional help. In line with this, PSVs, in collaboration with Inclusive Learning Support (ILS), organise Wellness Week, offering self-care activities such as affirmation desks, meditation, dance and art therapy, low-stimulation zones and journaling spaces that help students take a break from academic stress and cultivate mindfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the community<\/strong>
<\/strong>In addition to these initiatives, I contributed to the Meal Partner Program \u2014 a student-led effort that uses shared meals to foster social connections and build mental health awareness on campus. The positive feedback, with participants stepping out of their comfort zones and forming new friendships, underscores the transformative role PSVs can play. By also acting as an accountability and study partner, I help students feel supported and less pressured to handle everything alone. The impact of these efforts continually inspires me to contribute my best toward promoting mental well-being at Krea\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinidhi Pennathur, Cohort of 2022 – 2025, SIAS with a major in Psychology and a PSV volunteer Embrace is a peer support initiative by the Office of Student Life (OSL) in collaboration with Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) India and SIAS student volunteers, aimed at fostering student well-being. Under this initiative, the Peer Support Volunteers (PSVs) provide a non-judgmental space for students facing personal or academic challenges and serve as liaisons to mental health professionals.\u00a0 The rigourSelected PSVs undergo two days of intensive SCARF training in primary mental health support \u2014 gaining skills in active listening, crisis de-escalation and effective referral \u2014 to offer immediate, empathetic assistance and guide peers toward professional care. Referral contacts include YourDost Counselling Services and SCARF for further psychological support. A safe spaceCreating an open mental health discourse on campus de-stigmatises struggles and fosters an environment where students feel empowered to share their challenges, access peer support and connect with professional help. In line with this, PSVs, in collaboration with Inclusive Learning Support (ILS), organise Wellness Week, offering self-care activities such as affirmation desks, meditation, dance and art therapy, low-stimulation zones and journaling spaces that help students take a break from academic stress and cultivate mindfulness. For the communityIn addition to these initiatives, I contributed to the Meal Partner Program \u2014 a student-led effort that uses shared meals to foster social connections and build mental health awareness on campus. The positive feedback, with participants stepping out of their comfort zones and forming new friendships, underscores the transformative role PSVs can play. By also acting as an accountability and study partner, I help students feel supported and less pressured to handle everything alone. The impact of these efforts continually inspires me to contribute my best toward promoting mental well-being at Krea\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-experts-talk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13817"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13824,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13817\/revisions\/13824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krea.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}