Charlene Mitchell had to wait three weeks before she could see her therapist.
"I felt like I was struggling and stressed out," Mitchell said. "I wouldn't have gone if my friends hadn't told me too."
When the 21-year-old UF microbiology cell science senior finally saw her counselor, it was only for 20 minutes. Mitchell is one example of the increasing number of UF students seeking services from the Counseling and Wellness Center.
“I realized your brain is another organ – it’s OK to take medicine like anything with your body,” Mitchell said.
Since the petition was posted on Sunday, a total of 1,220 people have signed a Change.org petition appealing UF Student Government to establish permanent funding for the center through the Local Fee Committee, which recommends the rate of student fees annually.
Cristian Guerrero, a 19-year-old UF behavior and cognitive neuroscience sophomore, started the petition after he medically withdrew from his classes. Guerrero said he has sought help from the counseling center during one time of crisis but said it was difficult for him to be seen. He was placed on a waiting list.
“I don’t want my friends or anyone to go through a situation like this,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero wanted to bring the petition before the student fees committee Wednesday at Tigert Hall. Last year around this time, Student Government rejected a proposal by the center to establish permanent funding, which would’ve come from an increased student fee of 71.4 cents per credit hour.
“It’s a hard balance to strike but it’s worth the funding,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero said he has stepped away from the petition to focus on his mental health, but he believes the petition will still make an impact.
“I feel like as long as someone is doing something every year to try to establish these resources or just joining the conversation, to me, that’s a victory,” Guerrero said.
The center saw about 5,100 students during the 2016-2017 school year and 306, or six percent, were put on a waiting list, said Ernesto Escoto, the director of the Counseling and Wellness Center.
The university responded to the increased demand by establishing permanent funding for the center to hire 12 new counselors and already hired seven. Escoto said the center is in the process of onboarding five out of the 12, and they will spend the rest of the year hiring so they can have all new hires trained to facilitate group and individual therapy by summer 2019.
“We hope that that once we have all 12 new counselors, we can better address the needs of those on the waiting list,” Escoto said.
Escoto said they will not make a proposal for the student fee committee because of the center’s established funding.
Amber Bond, a 20-year-old UF political science junior, signed the petition and said she also had trouble setting up an appointment with the center – nothing matched with her schedule. This is the first time she’s signed a petition regarding mental health and said petitions are the easiest tool to spread awareness.
“I want them to make more of a commitment, so if that means raising the money we put forward – I just want them to make a bigger commitment,” Bond said.
Contact Alyssa Ramos at aramos@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @LysKRamos
