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Mental Health
College Student Mental Health- An Ongoing Battle.
The COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing need for mental health services, and an underfunded counseling center are big enough problems for a university to deal with individually. The University of Alabama is currently seeing the consequences of all three at the same time.
Students were and are encouraged by the university to take the utmost care of their physical health during the pandemic. Mental health, however, seems to be just as much of a challenge to manage.
The CDC released a report in 2020 saying that 40% of adults reported poor mental health due to the pandemic, and that young adults had “disproportionally worse mental health outcomes” than other age groups.
However, hope is on the horizon as reported pandemic-related deaths and illnesses seem to have decreased significantly. Now that COVID-19 vaccines are readily available and a large amount of Americans have received at least one dose, life is slowly but surely going back to normal.
After reporting on the topic for nearly a year, Lacey Alexander produced two news video packages and a collection of multimedia to tell the stories of college students managing their mental health.
Media
Below, you will find four news video packages exploring the "problems" and "solutions" to the mental health crisis facing college students. Please scroll down to view an edited package and a social media component for both sides of the story. There is also an audio story, covering both solutions and the problems, at the bottom.
The Problem
The Solutions
Multimedia
Below is a Google Map highlighting resources for counseling services on the University of Alabama's campus. There is also a Thinglink that includes all elements in one interactive 360-degree experience. Finally, there is a collection of graphics designed for informing audiences on social media platforms.
