

Cambrian, Canadore, Confederation, and Northern Colleges along with an unofficial partnership with Sault College, cooperated on a pan-northern project that aims to improve mental health awareness in our college communities while supporting learners with mental illnesses. The consortium members each face similar Northern, Ontario challenges of geography, access to resources, and a unique and diverse student body. Each partner took a lead role in developing one pillar of the Bridging the Distance project and all partners collaborated in the development, evaluation and implementation at each of the colleges.
This project developed a ‘northern relevant’ website www.bridgingthedistance.com with portals intended for students, staff and peers, designed to be a professional and easy to navigate site providing the necessary resources and information for immediate assistance for individuals experiencing mental health concerns or distress across the north. The site also acts as a portal of information including training materials, methods for early detection of students with mental health issues, a model for Peer-to-peer mentorship including materials developed in concert with the Canadian Mental Health Association and a model for distance counselling/advising.
Director Research
Confederation College
colin.kelly@confederationc.on.ca
Director
Glenn Crombie Centre for Student Support, Cambrian College
rachel.gillespie@cambriancollege.ca
Counsellor
Confederation College
james.lees@confederationc.on.ca
Team Lead, Student Success Services
Confederation College
Kim.LaPierre@canadorecollege.ca
Student Advisor
Northern College