Help when you're in school
Don't be afraid to ask for help. At one time or another, everybody needs help. That means everybody.
You'll find lots of options in the list below. If one doesn't work, try another.
Talk to someone.
See a counsellor and/or financial aid advisor.
If you can't get an appointment fast enough, talk to other people in the meantime, like family or friends.
If friends or family won't do, talk to a peer counselor, tutor or other resource person referred by your campus student association.
If they won't do, consider a professor or someone at one of your campus places of worship.
If they won't do, check the list of campus organizations, services and support groups. And if they won't do, go to off-campus resources like the ones listed below.
Somewhere out there, you really can find what you need.
Your own campus website may have good information on dealing with a problem or emergency.
Here are some examples of the campus-based help-listings or handbooks available:
Dalhousie (Halifax/Nova Scotia)
http://myguide.dal.ca/help.html
If you need poverty, legal, tenant or other kinds of help, see the rest of the sections in Who To Contact for Help. But first, try starting at your own campus, where help may be easier to access.
Student-run legal aid, and sometimes housing aid may be available at your campus. Most large campuses now have food banks (google if you're shy). And sometimes you can find comunity kitchens, meal exchanges or other services, such as:
McGill University's Midnight Kitchen (vegan lunches)
http://www.themidnightkitchen.blogspot.com/
Concordia University's People's Potato (vegan soup kitchen)
http://peoplespotato.blogspot.com/
If none of the above seem right, call a toll-free or local crisis line.
The best one for you may be at your own campus - or a campus nearby.
If not, look up crisis lines in your region using the map in the link below. Despite the URL title, it lists all kinds of help-lines, including specific ones like addiction or abuse or specific languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, French):
http://www.suicideinfo.ca/csp/go.aspx?tabid=77
Some help-lines not included in the above map-link are:
Ontario's peer support line for queer youth: Youthline.ca
Phone: 1-800-268-9688 or got to their website
Or contact Ontario's LGBT Youth Line
Prideline BC (queer support and information): Phone: 1-800-566-1170 or: http://www.qmunity.ca/youth/
If you're depressed or anxious, don't wait for your medical appointment next month. Call a help-line today. Or go directly to a clinic.
While you shouldn't try to resolve emotional or mental health issues on your own, McGill has online brochures that answer general questions:
http://www.mcgill.ca/mentalhealth/
McGill has now blocked its depression quiz for young adults to only McGill students. If you qualify, click here:
http://www.mcgill.ca/mentalhealth/depressionquiz/
If you're not at McGill, here's an online depression quiz from a US campus (Hartnell):
http://psychcentral.com/depquiz.htm
For more on this topic see:
For other help-links on our Student Finance 101 site, go to Useful Links.
Can you suggest other campus-based help lines or resources for students? We welcome your suggestions! Just Contact Us.
