Fanshawe College, partnered with mindyourmind, is the first educational facility to implement the online mental health resource iCopeU. The site comes at the right time as mental health issues are a key topic regarding students.

“There are many more mental health issues presenting themselves at colleges and universities,” said Lois Wey, manager of Counselling and Accessibility Services at Fanshawe. “They're on the increase.”

The iCopeU website is a way for students to access information for academic purposes, download relaxation tapes or for those who may be hesistant to reach out.

“We're limited to the time we're available (but) people can access (the site) easily at any time,” said Wey. “It helps people access it who may not initially access our services.”

The site was developed by mindyourmind, the award-winning, non-profit organization. It is youth-savvy, engaging and even fun with bright logos and a straightforward set-up that avoids being corny and contrived.

“The serious stuff is in the background. When students log on, (they're) tapping into social media, engaging. People who are in need of more (information) will find more,” said Wey.

The important aspect of creating such a site is that these resources are available any hour of the day.

“If it's 2 a.m. and you're feeling a bit depressed, (the website) provides a gateway and all kinds of ... information,” said Wey.

Counselling and Accessibility also partnered with Library and Media Services to ensure all articles and links were thoroughly researched for credibility. They will also be continuously upgrading and updating the virtual library, said Martie Grof-Iannelli, manager of Library and Media Services.

Having everything online provides students with “barrier-free access,” she added.

Fanshawe was in the process of developing a list of online resources for mental health with the library and counselling prior to iCopeU. But, when mindyourmind came forward with the idea for the site, everything just clicked, said Wey.

The site provides information on where to get help immediately, on campus as well as in the community. There's also the anatomy of a panic attack, something many young adults may experience during this time of transition.

“We knew of the need (for the site) because of the thousands of students we see every year,” said Wey. “We're really thrilled we're the first college in Canada to do this.”

Fanshawe will be presenting the site at the Mental Health Summit around the end of October.

“The bottom line is we want to help students more than one person at a time,” said Grof-Iannelli.

To see what iCopeU has to offer, check out http://icopeu.com/fanshawe.