The University Health Center’s mental health department and the Counseling Center are both working to increase their staff to better serve students.

CORRECTION: Due to reporting errors, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated how Get Help UMD was created, when money will be made available to the university’s mental health services and who provided the money.

Two students began Get Help UMD in a social change class outside of the SGA, Active Minds and the Help Center; the state did not provide the money; and the money will be made available in $500,000 increments beginning on July 1 for the next 10 years.

The following article has been amended to reflect these changes.

Months after seeking out a mental health services appointment, Ashli Haggard finally joined a group therapy session at the beginning of the semester.

The long wait time for an individual counseling session was frustrating for the sophomore behavioral and community health major, one of many students seeking counseling services on the campus.

In the wake of recent events that sparked dialogue about mental health awareness, the university received $5 million in funding toward hiring new mental health staff members. And though students and staff are optimistic about the enhancement of campus mental health services, some said the ultimate solution has yet to be found.

“Meeting students’ mental health needs is a marathon, not a sprint,” Haggard said. “When the university meets one need, another one will come up that they have to fix. But we are definitely getting closer in helping students.”

The funding will go toward hiring four additional counseling psychologist positions in the Counseling Center and one-and-a-half psychiatrist positions in the University Health Center’s mental health unit. The funding does not go into effect until July 1 when the first installment of $500,000 will become available, but three Counseling Center positions have already been filled by employees who will start this summer.

Receiving financial support was critical to the improvement of these on-campus services, said Linda Clement, student affairs vice president.

“This is the biggest single improvement that we have seen in student services in years,” Clement said. “People’s eyes are wide open to this issue and will all be watching carefully to see if demand is being met.”

The new staff could help tackle the extensive wait times for treatments, a common complaint among students seeking mental health services, Haggard said.

“Hiring is a great start and will decrease the volume that each therapist has to handle,” she said. “However, I also think that the centers should have ways for students to get in contact with therapists from outside of the university, especially for those uncomfortable with group therapy.”

Additional staffing could also allow more students opportunities for long-term psychotherapy, said Marta Hopkinson, health center mental health director.

“We have a very large demand for all services and have had to prioritize significance of each situation when people come through,” Hopkinson said. “In the future, we hope to offer services to a broader range of students.”

The Counseling Center reviews and evaluates its services regularly, said Sharon Kirkland-Gordon, the center’s director. The center added more therapeutic group sessions this year after students noted their effectiveness during previous semesters, she added.

Earlier this semester, Samantha Zwerling, Student Government Association president, and Madison Higgins, Help Center administrator worked through a social change class to create Get Help UMD, a Facebook page allowing anonymous students to address improvements for the health and counseling centers. The online forum helps improve the dialogue between students and health officials, said Jen Robinson, Active Minds president.

“There is no surefire way to fix everything all at once, but encouraging a discussion between students and the centers is definitely a worthwhile solution,” Robinson said. “Officials need to continue to check up on students and see if they are actually being helped.”

Dialogue about mental health awareness is more essential than ever, said sophomore civil engineering major Colby Brown, especially in the wake of recent events such as this semester’s off-campus murder-suicide. In February, graduate student Dayvon Maurice Green, who suffered from mental illness for at least a year, killed one of his roommates and injured another before taking his own life.

“In light of what’s happened in the past few months, it’s important that the university provide these services for students,” Brown said. “I think that especially at college, stress can get to a lot of kids and affect them emotionally.”

The prevalence of mental illnesses at colleges and universities has led Active Minds to plan a suicide awareness campaign and work to make the health and counseling centers more accessible to students in the upcoming years. Though the state funding is a good start, it’s not the final solution for such a widespread issue, Robinson said, and other adjustments must continue to be made.

“The funding does not give the university an excuse to now ignore mental health issues,” she said. “This is a battle that’s going to go on.”

Because so many students have attempted to get help on the campus, Hopkinson said this shows the stigma against mental illness and seeking treatment is already waning. The university has a long way to go to meet student needs, she said, adding the centers are improving thanks to the funding.

“The university has been supportive of mental health and is trying to take care of the well-being of students,” Hopkinson said. “I do think that we meet the urgent needs of students, but it’s probably going to continue to be a challenge to address more and more needs as they arise.”

Meeting the needs of every student seeking mental health services is a tough goal, Clement said, but it’s a goal worth striving toward.

“I think that demand is always going to outweigh the services available, but we will always try to meet that demand in the best way that we can,” Clement said. “Mental health is a priority of the university and will continue to be.”