Peer Support - St Thomas University

Peer support is provided by a peer and may be mental health focused or general support. All peer support services listed below are free.

In-person peer support

Community Peer Support is a free program through the Canadian Mental Health Association of New Brunswick that offers mental health recovery support to community members through self-referral.

Who? Any STU student struggling with mental health

Where? The peer supporter’s office is located at 557 St. Marys Street, Fredericton, NB, but they will meet with clients in the community.

To register, contact Sarah Dana at sarah.dana@cmhanb.ca or call 506-470-6468 or contact Suzette Legere at peersupport@cmhanb.ca or call 506-455-5231

University of New Brunswick Mental Health Peer Support is a peer support program available to St. Thomas University students. Students can schedule one-one-one appointments with Peer Supporters who are trained to provide confidential help to students experiencing mental health struggles by listening, sharing, and offering resources. Appointments are offered in person or virtually. Peer supporters are trained and certified through the Canadian Mental Health Association and supervised by the University of New Brunswick Counselling Services.

To connect, submit an appointment request; select “Peer Support – Book an appointment with a Certified Peer Supporter.”
You will need to complete an online intake assessment which will take approximately 20 minutes.

The Buddy Program through the St. Thomas University International Students’ Association (STUISA) is a program that pairs new international and exchange students with an upper year international or Canadian student, a “buddy”, to assist them in the transition to university life. The Buddy Program is an opportunity to build new friendships, experience new cultures, and receive support. Buddies interact with new students over the summer via Facebook, email, Skype, WeChat, or any other preferred method of communication and try to meet and greet their student when they arrive on campus.

To connect to a buddy or become a buddy, email stuisa@stu.ca
To be connected to a buddy, you must be a new international or exchange student.
To become a buddy, you must be an upper year international or Canadian student

Virtual Peer Support

7 Cups provides virtual peer support both one-on-one with a trained listener and in sharing circles. If you choose to connect one-on-one with a trained listener, you will be asked to “select the closest issue or topic” that you want to discuss from a list and you will be given space to write more details. Then, you will connect to a trained listener in a chat where you can message back and forth. If you choose to join a sharing circle, you will be part of a facilitated group chat with others where you can share what’s on your mind for 5-7 minutes. The sharing circle aims to be a safe and compassionate space to receive and give support.

To connect, create a 7 cups account
You will need to input your email, a password, your birth month and year, and create an anonymous username.

Togetherall is a digital mental health support platform which is free and available online 24/7 for all STU and UNB students. It is a safe and anonymous space to connect to peers.

Go to Togetherall and create an account.
Select “I’m from a university or college”.
Enter your UNB/STU student email.
Enter your details and click Sign Up.
A verification email will be sent to your student email address. Activate your account.