The student life team provides a variety of peer support opportunities for students to get involved with helping other students. Students can volunteer for different schemes and are trained to provide valuable support to fellow students. Students will need help from time to time and volunteering with the student life team enables students to provide an additional line of support to their peers.
Student Services Directorate
Student Volunteering
Wellbeing Champions are student volunteers who are offering their time to help and support other students in the University around issues of mental and emotional wellbeing.
The main purpose of the Champion role is to complement and promote the Student Wellbeing, Learning and Welfare Support (SWLWS) service at Hull University. Champions will be encouraging students to think about and act on improving their health and wellbeing. Champions will let students and others know about events happening around the University and act as ambassadors for positive mental and emotional wellbeing.
Being at University can be an exciting time, but it can also be a difficult time for some. Students may experience times of stress, low mood, anxiety and poorer wellbeing.
The Champions understand that the student experience can vary from person to person and students may want to have a chat about how they are feeling with someone, such as a fellow student, prior to accessing formal services.
Champions will also have the opportunity to participate in a range of activities across the University campus to promote wellbeing and other welfare issues.
Champions will be happy to talk about wellbeing issues and offer a friendly ear. They are able to signpost you to resources, talk to you about Student Support services available to you and offer some basic ideas on managing your health and wellbeing. They can also, if appropriate, help you to identify any issues and encourage you to take any helpful next steps to improve your wellbeing.
Champions can also offer some suggestions to help you feel more connected during your time at university. Please feel free to speak to the Champions and they can help guide you to a variety of activities, events and services around the University and local area to boost and improve your wellbeing.
The Wellbeing Champions are also on Facebook (@hullunichamps) and Instagram (@hullunichamps).
Rob Jackson (Student Life Officer) wellbeingchampions@hull.ac.uk
Student Services Directorate
Student Volunteering / Group Support
Student Minds’ Peer Support Groups support students to support each other, facilitating early intervention, which is fundamental to preventing long-term mental health difficulties. Broadly, peer support can be defined as support provided by and for people with similar conditions, problems or experiences and is based on the belief that people who have faced and overcome adversity can offer support, encouragement and hope to others facing similar situations. By creating a positive atmosphere for talking about mental health, we aim to give students the confidence to look after their own wellbeing.
Our Peer Support Groups follow the principles of motivational interviewing, with our trained student volunteers taking responsibility for facilitating discussion rather than providing advice or direct support. Groups are open to anyone who feels they may benefit. Our programmes always maintain a pro-recovery atmosphere. Attention to ground rules, boundaries and the confidentiality policy helps to ensure that groups offer a safe and supportive environment to talk.
Student Minds groups offer support through facilitated peer conversation. The groups are not an alternative to professional support and we encourage students attending peer support groups to also seek further support from their local GP, university mental health practitioner or other university support services.
Student Minds groups are facilitated by student volunteers who will have been trained to facilitate group discussions, to listen supportively and ensure that groups are always a friendly, welcoming space. Group facilitators are not trained advisers or counsellors.
Low mood is common among university students. Very common. The Positive Minds course has been designed to give students the skills they need to keep low mood at bay. If students are interested in learning new ideas to help keep their university experience a positive one, this course is for them.
The Positive Minds sessions follow a structure; through six meetings students will be guided through a workbook packed full of ideas and suggestions to help them stay positive. The groups hope to support people experiencing or with experience of low mood, to build broader networks of social support, adopt self-care strategies, engage in more, and to realise that they are not suffering alone.
Student Minds groups hold 6-week Positive Minds courses, aiming to help you keep low mood at bay and put strategies in place to help cope under stress and during difficult times. Each group session focuses on a different theme. These groups offer a safe atmosphere for discussion, aiming to reduce isolation and help you focus on small positive steps to improve your mood.
Rob Jackson (Student Life Officer) sett@hull.ac.uk
Student Services Directorate
Student Volunteering
During the popular nights out at the University of Hull, we encourage all of our students to stay safe, look after themselves and each other. We have friendly staff at our on-site nightclub, Asylum, who work hard to make your nights fun, enjoyable and safe.
The University’s Support Service runs a night-time volunteer project on a Wednesday night at Asylum, The Hull University Angels.
The Hull University Angels is a project designed to support students enjoying the nightlife on campus. It launched in September 2017, following a recruitment drive just before the Summer period. Working closely with HUU, Campus Security, LINKS (St John Ambulance), Courtyard Accommodation and others, the Angels have added an extra layer of safety and support to the student experience.
The Hull University Angels are on hand to offer a friendly face to you and your friends enjoying a night-out on campus. If you or someone you’re with are perhaps a bit worse for wear, speak to one of the Angels who can help you stay safe and support you to make your way home.
The University Angels are also available on the occasions when someone is perhaps not allowed to stay at Asylum. The Angels are able to stay with the student and keep them safe until they are able to make their way home. University Angels can walk with a student around the campus and, if needed, take them to a safe place where they can chill out and recover to a state whereby they can get home. This may include escorting the student to a bus stop and waiting with them or arranging alternative transport.
Keep an eye out for The Hull University Angels in their branded high-vis jackets around campus. They’ll be more than happy to have a chat and help you be safe on a night out.
The Hull University Angels are also on Facebook (@hulluniangels) and Instagram (@hulluniangels).
Rob Jackson (Student Life Officer) uniangels@hull.ac.uk