In an attempt to foster better mental health among its students, Jackson College has launched a new anonymous, peer to peer social media platform called Togetherall.
Jackson College in Michigan has recently introduced a new, anonymous, peer to peer social platform called Togetherall, where students can share their mental health struggles with their peers who are experiencing similar issues.
In an article posted on Jackson College’s website, Togetherall Account Manager Ashley Knost talked about the importance of the platform being anonymous, saying, “You have somebody on the other end that isn’t going to stigmatize you or give their thoughts and feelings about you because they know you. They’re going to be somebody that’s a neutral person to be able to express how you’re feeling or give you that feedback.”
Knost also noted that she has been observing more isolation among students, as they tend to spend more time in digital spaces than physical ones. This is why the platform is an online one, to meet students where they already are. The platform has licensed clinicians monitoring it constantly.
“Their main focus is to have eyes on it if there is any risk that gets put in the platform or anything that you would want a clinician to intervene with, but for the most part they’re there to help encourage the rest of the community to weigh in on some of the conversations that are happening and having that warm touch there,” said Knost of the clinicians.
While peer to peer support is the focus of Togetherall, in person help is also available. The Oasis Center is also offered by Jackson College. The center is an on campus drop in facility for mental health support.
Sarah Sabin, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Family Services and Children’s Agency, spoke about the center and its flexibility, saying, “So that way, they can come in on their own schedule and be able to see a mental health professional and get that support when they’re needing it the most.”
She also noted that as time progresses, students are becoming more open about their mental health struggles: "They're coming forth and talking about their anxiety, talking about their depression. They’re talking about their trauma and wanting to get support, wanting to get some resolution and learn new skills to be able to cope more efficiently with some of the stresses that they’re experiencing.”
Sabin also noted that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been not only an increase in demand for support, but also a nationwide shortage of providers, increasing the difficulty to access mental health services.
“By providing those services on-site, Jackson College removes any barriers to their students or their employees and accessing those much needed mental health supports,” she said.
Jackson College is expanding The Oasis Center by adding one more on site mental health therapist. The expansion was funded through the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (or MiLEAP)’s Barrier Removal - Growing Institutional Capacity program.
Sabin went on to talk about how beneficial the expansion will be, saying, “Now we can do some real engagement on campus and go meet the students where they are at like the Jets Hangar or the cafeteria. We can go out and find the students, engage with them and provide them a different type of service than what the traditional one-on-one therapy is.”
The Oasis Center will work together with Togetherall to promote the peer to peer platform to make sure that students are aware of the program, and how they can best use it.
Knost talked about how shifting cultural trends will help the program succeed: “I think it’s becoming more popular to be able to talk about your feelings but encouraging students to know that it’s okay to find supportive services and if going in person is not what you feel like you need in the moment and that you have an option in your toolkit to be able to get that support from other peers and or professionals.”
Students will also have access to courses, self-assessments, and other resources within Togetherall so that students will have the ability to learn and explore as much about mental health as they want.
Knost spoke about the difference between Togetherall and a normal social media site, saying, “Social and digital sites can be scary if you’ve ever ventured into any other social platform, there’s trolling, bullying, and a lot of negative that comes out of it. Togetherall’s overall goal would be to allow people a safe, comfortable place to talk about how they’re feeling, knowing they’re coming through genuine and authentic and if they do need additional support, there is somebody that can help them.”
She added, discussing the reasons why someone may want to access the platform, “Maybe it’s their first year away from home, they just want to kind of vent or get something off their chest. We are not promoted as a crisis service. We can handle it if it happens on our platform, but we’re really just a place to go and vent. Get things off your chest. We’re hoping to connect with those students who are just needing a place to talk with other people about anything. We have a wide variety of topics on our platform. It’s not all deep and dark and heavy mental health content. There’s uplifting and positive content too.”
Any Jackson College student with a student email account can sign up for Togetherall by visiting its website.
More information about Jackson College can be found on the school’s website.