The UHD Veteran Services department partnered with the Accessible Education Center, Counseling Services, and the office of Title IX / Equal Opportunity Services to raise awareness of mental health and PTSD and provide an overview of all the different resources available for both students and staff.
Veteran Services Coordinator Jazz Nixon organized this event. His intention was to bring together all three of these departments into one seminar and make all students, veterans or not, aware of just how many different departments and resources UHD has available for students’ mental health.
The first speaker was the Director of Counseling Services, Naomi Berger-Perez. She presented on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its impact on veterans, how challenges can manifest themselves on a college campus, and the different counseling services available here at UHD.
These services include one-on-one therapy, group support down at the veteran’s office, and different coping strategies that can be implemented during moments of distress. She stressed three important steps in her presentation; first was symptomology—defining your symptoms, second was establishing strategies to help, and third was resources within UHD and our community.
The next department to present was the Accessible Education Center led by Hope Pamplin. With her commanding presence and funny quips, she made it clear her job was to make accessing curricula as easy as it is for a student without a disability.
She acknowledged that there is a lot of anxiety, especially within veterans, when providing people with medical information, however, not only did she guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of their information, but she also stressed the importance of transparency, to provide the best accommodations possible for them at school.
These accommodations can include assistive technology, classroom and scheduling accommodations, and countless others all tailored to students’ specific needs. Pamplin calls herself “a fighter” and she is ready to fight for what students need to get the most out of their college education.
The final department to present was the office of Title IX / Equal Opportunity Services led by Title IX & Equal Opportunity Officer Brandon Lee, Title IX. The office of Title IX is dedicated to anti-discriminatory policies, protecting classes based on age, race, gender expression, sexuality and pregnancy or parenting.
Lee acknowledged the changes made to Title IX under the Trump Administration regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. He assured that UHD is committed to its own Equal Opportunity policy that covers all incidents, on and off campus.
There will be another event coordinated by the counseling department, the 2nd annual Mental Health Matters Summit on April 2-3. The event is free to all students, staff, and faculty. UHD Counseling Services, the Title IX office, and Veteran Services are always accessible on campus or through email.
