Mental Health Task Force will release report on Jed Foundation partnership at unspecified date

The University’s Mental Health Task Force will release a first-ever formal report on its year-long partnership with the Jed Foundation at an unspecified date, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) Calvin Chin said at Sunday’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) meeting.

In 2019, the University began a four-year collaboration with the Jed Foundation — a nonprofit that “protects emotional health and prevents suicide” to create a campus mental health plan. The University re-engaged with the Jed Foundation in 2023 to establish its Mental Health Task Force.

During the USG meeting, Chin said the task force’s intention was to evolve into a standing mental health committee aimed at pushing forward previous work to provide effective mental health care to students.

After spending the last two years reviewing the top concerns presented by students and campus partner groups, then forming sub-committees to address each issue, the task force wrapped up its work with the Jed Foundation this September.

Chin described some programs the task force has been working on, intended to help students develop positive life skills, practice healthy academic habits, peer-to-peer education initiatives, and enhance clinical offerings on campus for substance abuse and mental health.

Chin’s updates included installing a new CPS position for an alcohol and drug specialist for students struggling with mental health and substance abuse.

The new clinician will be able to provide comprehensive services around substance misuse and be able to treat those that need more of an educational intervention to people who need treatment.

Additionally, Chin highlighted a Fall 2024 reduction in co-pays from $20 to $10 for off-campus counseling and therapeutic services for students on the University health plan.

Following Chin’s presentation, the USG meeting transitioned to updates from Vivian Chang ’28 and Raghav Pradhan ’28 on their plans to partner with Transportation and Parking Services (TPS) to bulk-buy 196 NJ Transit Tickets to New York for students. Chang and Pradhan said they anticipate ticket distribution to begin before reading period on Nov. 30, but they are still working on promoting the vouchers.

In addition to information regarding the NJ Transit ticket vouchers, Chang and Prandhan also described the work already conducted with TPS, including the promotion of a new bike registration program and the TigerLift program, which is designed to help students split rideshares in order to save money and avoid unnecessary traffic before breaks.

USG Meetings are open for all students to attend and are held on Sundays from 5–6 p.m. in Robertson Hall 016. This week’s USG meeting was held via Zoom.

Leela Hensler is a staff News writer and a staff Sports writer for the 'Prince.' She is from Berkeley, Calif. and can be reached at leela[at]princeton.edu.