Middlesex Community College has taken an important step in bolstering its student support services and joined other leading institutions globally by partnering with student mental wellbeing support platform TalkCampus. Middlesex will debut TalkCampus for all students on Friday, August 15.
“After exploring ways to expand our mental health resources, TalkCampus emerged as a clear choice for its accessibility and student-focused design,” said Jaimie March, MCC’s Assistant Dean of Student Support Services. “The platform complements the mission of the MCC Wellness Resource Center (WRC) and our JED Campus efforts by promoting help-seeking, strengthening protective factors, and connecting students to a range of supportive services.”
TalkCampus is an online community of students who support each other through their daily struggles – all within a clinically safeguarded environment. MCC students will get access to a community of millions of students from across the world where they can express themselves authentically, in their own language, on a mobile phone, any time of day or night. The platform is a safe and anonymous place for students to share, with 24/7 moderation and escalation performed by a global safety team.
MCC has chosen to add peer support to their mental wellbeing offerings to better support students throughout their academic journey. Peer support is a well-evidenced form of support that provides instant, ongoing connection wherever a student might be, directly through their phones. A 2023 survey found that since using TalkCampus, 86 percent of students find it easier to ask for help when they need it, and 79 percent find it easier to cope with life.
“Providing students with a safe, anonymous space to share openly, they can seek peer support and build connections,” March said. “TalkCampus is a unique blend of real-time peer support and robust safety protocols – including professional moderation and escalation systems – to ensure that students can engage safely while feeling heard and understood.”
MCC now provides TalkCampus as a proactive and preventative mental wellbeing solution that is inclusive to all students, whether on campus or studying remotely. Middlesex is excited that TalkCampus will be a valuable addition to the college’s existing wellbeing suite and are proud to be able to give students access to this global community.
“More often than not, we meet with students who are hoping for more support and connection as even those who have supports may not feel comfortable approaching friends and family on certain topics,” said Amy Mahoney, MCC’s Wellness Counselor. “In the fields of mental health and substance use, getting support from a peer or person with similar experience can be life changing. Our main hope with TalkCampus is that students will feel less alone and have a place they can get support and validation for what they are going through, in addition to counseling at MCC’s WRC that is free and focused on students’ mental health and wellness needs.”