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According to the Healthy Minds Network, ~32% of college + university students are dealing with some type of mental illness – yet only ~40% of these students seek help.

So, according to the above data, out of UofSC’s ~25,000 undergraduate students in 2015, ~8,000 dealt with mental illness, but only about 3,200 actually sought help.

Gamecock Reach, a new student organization at UofSC, aims to destigmatize mental health issues and to encourage those who are suffering to seek help via its anonymous peer listening service.

What exactly is peer listening? Peer listening is different from typical counseling in that the “counselor” is a fellow undergraduate student (who has gone through a rigorous training program in mental health advocacy), giving non-professional guidance on subjects like class anxiety or roommate stresses.

Students seeking low-level emotional support can drop by Thomas Cooper Library study rooms on Wednesdays from 4-8 p.m. to chat.

3 min read / Midlands Anchor