The Principal’s Commission on Mental Health will release a discussion paper this spring to get feedback from the Queen’s community before finalizing its report in the fall.

The commission originally planned to submit recommendations towards a university strategy to Principal Daniel Woolf in April, but is getting input on a draft first.

“We’ve been in listening mode for several months and we’ve had comprehensive discussions with a wide range of community members,” says commission chair David Walker. “We’ve received many excellent and thoughtful ideas to help enhance support for student health and wellness, and to address the needs of those with mental illnesses, so we’re going to seek comments and feedback on a draft report before we complete our work.”

The Commission plans to outline ways the university could:

• help reduce stress and anxiety among students and its effects
• better support students living with mental illness, and
• maximize its response to students in crisis.

“I believe the Commission has made enormous progress with a challenging and doubtless demanding task,” says Principal Daniel Woolf. “I look forward to both the draft report and the final recommendations later this year.”

To learn more about the Commission’s work to date, visit www.queensu.ca/cmh.