By Bob Katzen
A bill heard by the Higher Education Committee would require public state colleges to provide students and employees with mental health awareness and prevention programming. This would cover vital topics including signs of mental health issues and substance abuse, where to access mental health resources and crisis intervention strategies.

“I’m sponsoring this bill because as a psychiatric nurse, I recognize that many mental health disorders present themselves in early adulthood and believe in the evidence-based research which recommends that higher education institutions can help improve positive mental health in vulnerable emerging adult populations by implementing training and education initiatives,” said sponsor Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton). “Studies have shown that more students are presenting with increasingly severe mental health problems in recent decades, a problem exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.”

Khan continued, “Prioritizing mental health education by requiring mandatory mental health awareness programming and primary prevention education in public higher education institutions will train students to recognize these issues in their peers and prepare staff for conversations around mental health, resulting in healthier and more successful outcomes for students in Massachusetts.”