Student-run mental health charity Student Minds Cambridge (SMC) has launched its new Student Support Guide website, created to produce an accessible guide to the mental health services available to Cambridge students.

Produced by SMC’s College Representative Coordinator Carolyn Irvine and University Liaison Officer, Jonny Hart, the website contains pages on all the support services available in Cambridge, at both a College and University level.  Student initiatives and external charities, both those that work nationally and those based in Cambridge, are also featured.

The website was created over four months by members of the charity, with input from the University Counselling Service and Disability Resource Centre.

Discussing her aims for the project, Irvine told Varsity that she and Hart hoped the website would go some way to solve “some crucial issues” around mental health support in Cambridge.

“We find that students are not given enough information about their options when it comes to finding support, and most students just don’t know where to go to get help. Of course, the personal tutors are on the whole very useful for this, but going through the tutors requires students to be comfortable talking about their mental health with someone they may not know very well.”

She said the website would allow students to access the support they needed “ in the privacy of their own rooms, at their own pace, and without having to explain themselves.” There are also resources to help students learn how best to support their peers.

SMC vice-president Shadab Ahmed, who helped to finalise the project, told Varsity that the website was an “extremely helpful resource to students”, and emphasised its particular usefulness to freshers who were “new to the bubble”.

He continued, “It helps to clarify all the support avenues that are in place in the University, and soon specifically in College. I hope that it will help make it easier for students to seek support should they or their friends need it, and I am very glad to have been a part of it.”

Student Minds Cambridge is part of national charity Student Minds, which campaigns for better awareness about mental health. They have already run a number of events this term, including a comedy night with the Impronauts, and puppy therapy, which was held at the Cambridge Union.

The website can be found at www.findsupportcam.com