Student support group to get funding

Silverline Otago student lead (from left) Maddi Mitchell (21), Social Impact Studio programme...
Silverline Otago student lead (from left) Maddi Mitchell (21), Social Impact Studio programme activator Kasey Miles (23), and international student wellbeing lead Amal Abdullahi (24). PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON
Breaking down the barriers between domestic and international students at the University of Otago, as well as making people feel less isolated, is what a peer-support group hopes to achieve after securing more than $50,000 in funding.

Silverline Otago was set up in 2017 for students, by students, to give them an opportunity to connect to one another and to discuss self-care and mental health issues.

Its pilot was so successful the programme is still going, and the funding will hopefully enable the group to connect with more of the university's international student population - which numbers more than 2500 students.

The group's international co-ordinator, Amal Abdullahi, said Silverline would be holding "Silverline Sessions" with the funding, which it has received from the Ministry of Education's International Student Wellbeing Strategy fund.

Some of the challenges faced by international students included not only isolation and feeling like they did not belong, but "not having the right awareness or language".

Sometimes mental health struggles were "not well-regarded" in other cultures, she said.

The first "session" would be a trip to St Kilda next week, where international and domestic students would mingle for activities and a picnic of fish and chips.

It was about making people feel part of a community, as well as creating a space for students to talk about their mental health and wellbeing struggles, she said.

Silverline Otago and UniCrew volunteer programme now both fall under the umbrella of the university's Social Impact Studio, which was launched earlier this week.

The studio's programme activator, Kasey Miles, said last year Silverline had spoken to international students and tried to gauge what their needs were, and how best to get in touch with their communities.

They hoped to "bridge the gap" between domestic and international students.

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