Like many colleges, Augsburg University has seen a rise in demand for mental health services in recent years. But despite the growing need, students who are BIPOC, low-income, or first-generation often experience unique barriers to seeking help with mental health or substance use issues. 

“Two of the gifts of our community—our diverse student body and our location in the heart of Minneapolis—mean that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to mental health doesn’t work here at Augsburg,” said Michael Grewe, dean of students. “Many of our students come from immigrant communities that have experienced multiple forms of oppression and trauma, and our campus sits just a few miles from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020. This translates to a significant need not only for trauma-informed mental health services but also for a trauma-informed campus community.”

Augsburg recently received a grant of nearly $300,000 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to improve students’ ability to access culturally relevant mental health and substance use prevention and intervention services. The grant will support the Auggie Well-Being project, an initiative to promote help-seeking and reduce stigma among underrepresented and under-resourced students.  

Systemic barriers to seeking help can stem from cultural stigma, fear of discrimination, past experiences of discrimination or criminalization, lack of comfort with Western mental health care systems, or lack of awareness about mental health challenges that could benefit from counseling or other interventions. The Auggie Well-being project calls for outreach, training, and community programming to address these barriers. Over the three years of the grant, Augsburg will: 

• Educate students about mental health concepts and services through campus-wide and targeted promotion initiatives in multiple languages, including Spanish, Hmong, and Somali.
• Implement required training for faculty, staff, and student leaders on evidence-based strategies to identify and respond to mental health or substance use-related issues.
• Promote help-seeking behavior and reduce stigma through programming on culturally relevant mental health and wellness frameworks and resources. 

“Our goal is ultimately to normalize and make it easier to ask for help, especially for our students with complex challenges,” said Grewe. 

Augsburg is one of 30 institutions nationally to receive a grant in 2024 through SAMHSA’s GLS Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program. The program aims to support a comprehensive public health and evidence-based approach that enhances behavioral health services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness/serious emotional disturbances, and/or substance use disorders that can lead to school failure; prevents and reduces suicide and mental and substance use disorders; promotes help-seeking behavior and reduces stigma; and improves the identification and treatment of at-risk college students so they can successfully complete their studies. SAMHSA, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leads public health efforts to advance behavioral health.