Howest Student Services strengthens connectedness among students

Howest Student Services strengthens connectedness among students

Today's society does not make it easy for students to connect with fellow students. The Buddy & Mind project strengthens that connection and increases their mental resilience through peer support, a preventative method in which young people support each other. In this way, attention is paid to the mental wellbeing of our students.

Here, personal encounter, connection and care are very important. Through training we teach the 'buddies' to stop and think about their personal boundaries. Topics such as resilience and learning how to recognize signals of vulnerability are addressed. We teach social and communicative skills in order to appropriately support fellow students and refer them to specialist care if necessary. These skills are further reinforced by sharing experiences during the supervisions and intervisions.

Peer support is by definition contact-rich and remains so this academic year. But in times of Covid-19 it is also important to develop online peer support. In this way 'buddies' can also lend a listening ear and build bridges towards personal encounters and help. The aim is to increase the resilience of students as broadly as possible, strengthen their social network and reduce loneliness.