How South Side College Students are Caring For Their Mental Well-Being

Many students are mapping out their own support plans years after a 2019 Illinois law was enacted to support student mental health at public universities and community colleges.

The third-floor rec room of 九秀直播's Douglas Hall might not appear as inviting as the green lawns and leafy trees that wrap around the 161-acre campus. But in 2024, students in the university's graduate-level occupational therapy program made it a haven of their own.

Inside, several students clustered together on a couch and in armchairs. Two were snoozing 鈥� a rite of passage for many an overworked collegiate. Another lets visitors know this room has been designated a quiet space.

Khaliah Williams, 22, needed that sort of respite after a rough first year at Chicago State 鈥� a predominantly Black university in Roseland near 95th Street and Martin Luther King Drive.

Williams managed the stress of her occupational therapy graduate program by sleeping a lot, but she felt that wasn鈥檛 healthy and sought help, she said.

鈥淢y experience has been up and down,鈥� she told City Bureau in an interview over the summer. 鈥淚t tested me a lot.鈥�

Mental health challenges among college students across the United States date back years. In a 2019 analysis of surveys from undergrads at 100 schools, over one-third of students said they experienced depression severe enough that . Nearly 60% said they had experienced . Additionally, for students coping with mental health challenges.

Those issues peaked during the early years of the pandemic. Students reported all-time highs in depression, anxiety and in the 2021-22 school year, . Rates of depressive symptoms fell in subsequent years but remained higher than in pre-pandemic years, .

As students whose education and lifestyles were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to fill college classrooms over the next decade, those challenges are coming to a head 鈥� and schools are increasingly trying to find solutions. So are college students themselves.

Williams鈥� reliance on sleep as a coping strategy is just one example of how college students have grappled with the stressors of higher education. Alesia Richardson, chair of Chicago State鈥檚 psychology and counseling department and an associate professor, said students missed out on key emotional development as they grappled with isolation in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students often feel anxious and act out during class, Richardson said.

To address the growing mental health problem on Illinois public university and community college campuses, state legislators passed the in 2019. The law aimed to boost campus clinician-to-student ratios and strengthen student mental health resources. But amid difficult budget negotiations, this year鈥檚 state budget falls short of fully funding the mandate. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would maintain that level of funding, .

Many Illinois college students have created their own mental health support systems. For college students who grew up on Chicago鈥檚 South or West sides, layers of trauma from growing up in divested neighborhoods can compound college stressors. And when some of those students struggle to have their basic needs met, it makes showing up to class all the more difficult, said Christine Brown, a lifelong South Sider and director of Chicago State鈥檚 counseling center.

Self-reliance, self-empowerment

For some college students, managing mental health challenges and finding support is a new endeavor.

Many students are experiencing mental health challenges for the first time in their lives, said Lily Rocha, associate vice president of policy at NAMI Chicago, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Health, an advocacy and education nonprofit organization.

Although more college students are , some find campus counseling centers , or are unable to get an appointment . With , these university counseling centers are often understaffed, especially when it comes to providers of color. This can disproportionately impact students of color 鈥� who are already . Barriers like these can force students to find solutions or coping skills on their own.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand what it means to navigate the mental health system,鈥� Rocha said.

At Chicago State, Williams has struggled with anxiety, some of it from preparing for and taking tests.

鈥淚鈥檓 a very overwhelmed person,鈥� she said. Tests that might be simple for peers, she explained, turn into multistep endeavors for her.

鈥淚t may be one test for you, but in my head it鈥檚 10 steps,鈥� she said.

Williams was exhausted by the end of her first semester and realized she needed more support. After talking with her mother, Williams suspected she might have anxiety, so her focus turned to learning how to manage that anxiety, she said. Her family and her classmates have been additional sources of support, she said.

鈥淲e kind of lean on one another,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e [are] around each other so much, I can tell when someone is off.鈥�

Williams鈥� classmate Bianca Guardiola, 29, says self-care strategies are the reason she hasn鈥檛 needed on-campus mental health support, despite her packed schedule. Occupational therapy is a stressful career path, especially for first-year students, but she prioritizes sleep and has taken advantage of the counseling center鈥檚 wellness programs, which includes activities such as yoga, she said.

Guardiola agreed that students are leaning on each other, as well. Their cohort talks about their mental health because they鈥檙e all going through it, she said.

鈥淲e try to support each other,鈥� she said.

Chicago State has also offered tutoring, study tips and online wellness modules with stress management tips, Williams said. But students say those offerings aren鈥檛 always consistent, especially during the summer semester. To supplement, Guardiola and her classmates developed their own yoga program to do in between classes before a big exam, she said.

鈥淭hat right there helped with the test anxiety,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like if we were to have more of that implemented within our department, it definitely would help.鈥�

A partially funded mandate

Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed off on a that includes $13 million for the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act, legislators who championed the law said that鈥檚 not enough. Government forecasters estimate public universities and community colleges across to sustain campus mental health support.

鈥淲e need to increase that because we have all our public universities that are relying on splitting $13 million,鈥� said State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-Chicago). Ford collaborated withState Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) to push the General Assembly to fully fund the law.

鈥淲e wanted $22 million,鈥� Ford said.

LaPointe, chair of the House Mental Health and Addictions Committee, said getting the $13 million restored in the final budget was a battle. Pritzker initially planned to cut funding to $4 million, a 70% decrease, LaPointe said.

鈥淚t just wasn鈥檛 acceptable,鈥� La Pointe said. 鈥淭he last thing we should be doing is rolling back [funding].鈥�

Pritzker skirted making an official cut by instead increasing overall operational funds to community colleges and state universities, which institutions could use 鈥渨ith flexibility,鈥� a spokesperson for the governor鈥檚 office told City Bureau.

The 2% increase in operating budgets 鈥� 鈥� didn鈥檛 go far enough, Ford said. Most public universities asked for a 12% increase, Ford said. He predicted that universities facing infrastructure needs were more likely to dedicate money to those improvements and still not receive nearly as much in operational dollars as they wanted, he said.

earmarks $13 million for the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act for another year: $7 million through the Illinois Board of Higher Education and $6 million via the Illinois Community College Board.

Less rigor, more resources and funding

Students, university staff and faculty all have different views about what robust college student mental health support would look like.

Although Williams said most of her professors have been supportive, she would like to see more of them help students reduce stress by offering more frequent, lower-stakes quizzes and tests versus one or two major exams.

Training professors to support student well-being is key, Richardson said.

Adding a psychiatrist to counseling center staff is also essential, Brown said. Without a psychiatrist on staff to formally evaluate students for mental health conditions, centers can鈥檛 provide students services such as guidance in maintaining a medication schedule, she said. The dearth of also means 鈥渢he time it takes to get students connected to a psychiatrist is ridiculous.鈥�

Fully funding the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act would help universities and community colleges across Illinois diversify the behavioral health supports they offer, Rocha said.

Getting to the funds needed annually to fund campus mental health in Illinois won鈥檛 be easy, advocates and legislators say. Even maintaining $13 million each year will take work, La Pointe said. Her goal is to build support among legislators, General Assembly leaders and the governor鈥檚 office to prioritize campus mental health support funding., she said.

鈥淚'm hopeful that the fight will get a lot easier as the awareness for how impactful this is grows,鈥� LaPointe said.

Rocha agreed legislative support is key and advocates like those at NAMI and higher education staff will have to 鈥渂e really loud and persistent with their advocacy鈥� With that, we can get there,鈥� she said.

Until then, students like Guardiola and Williams plan to keep prioritizing their individual and collective well-being as they continue in the occupational therapy program.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going into a profession where we want to help people,鈥� Guardiola said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 not taking care of myself, I can鈥檛 help others.鈥�

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