Bell Canada has pledged $1 million over the next five years to create a mental health and anti-stigma research chair at Queen’s.
The announcement was made on Feb. 7.
The $1 million is a generous donation from Bell, but it’s not likely to make a significant impact on mental wellness at Queen’s. The University shouldn’t herald the donation as a triumph because it won’t impact front-line services.
The establishment of the research chair is useful for treating issues of mental health, but the priority should be on improving care. Attention needs to be given to Health, Counselling and Disability Services (HCDS) to provide more counselors for students seeking help. Bell’s donation could have helped to ameliorate this problem.
Heather Stuart, a professor of epidemiology and community health, will hold the research chair position until Bell’s funding expires.
Dr. Stuart’s fieldwork may yield important results, but there’s no guarantee that it will bring about tangible benefits. Research funding won’t harm Queen’s, but $1 million over five years could pay for a counsellor’s salary, with money to spare.
Bell should be commended for donating money to a worthwhile project like improving mental health. The Let’s Talk campaign, which has promised a total of $50 million over five years to mental health-related programs, targets an often overlooked aspect of wellness.
Bell’s Chair of Board Thomas O’Neill said other corporations haven’t explored mental health initiatives, prompting Bell to choose it as a focus. Establishing Bell as a frontrunner in this particular strand of philanthropy is a wise move.
The publicity elicited from the Let’s Talk campaign will pay back in dividends, as the program has received ample media attention.
Research funded by corporations should be regarded cautiously, but it helps pay for studies that would otherwise go unfunded.
Queen’s has become the de facto centre of mental health concerns among post-secondary schools since a series of student deaths in 2010.
It’s important that the conversation be opened on issues of mental health, but immediate and substantive action needs to be taken as well.
The University needs to realize that Bell’s donation is a small step forward. Students are waiting to see substantive change — shorter wait times at HCDS would be a good start.
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