ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nineteen-year-old Alina Gotovtseva tries to get time in at the park everyday.

"It helps me get my thoughts together, it helps me just get some time alone to process things," said Gotovtseva.

The St. Petersburg College pre-nursing student from Ukraine has had a lot to process lately.

"After the invasion of Ukraine, I was falling behind in school and I was just really struggling mentally," said Gotovtseva.

Mourning the loss of loved ones, worrying about those who survived, all while trying to focus on school: Gotovtseva reached out for support through SPC's Mental Health and Wellness Program.

"I got a chance to talk about my feelings with someone I have not met before, so I could be honest and just share how I was feeling, how the events, the news, everything was making me feel and how I was coping with that," said Gotovtseva.

Learning to cope, Gotovtseva wants to make sure other students take advantage of the same type of support. That's why she collaborates with Shanya Turner, Manager of the Student Mental Health and Wellness Program, to help increase awareness about what's available to students.

"We do offer students five free sessions each year," said Turner. "Sometimes it’s just getting them connected with that, other times it’s referring them to community resources or getting them set up with their own insurance."

A welcome back event in the works will help highlight those services at the start of the semester.

"We don’t want to wait until mid-terms or final exams when students are already stressed out to the max, when they’re having problems coping. We really want to get that early intervention," said Turner.

Support is based on each student's situation.

Glad she reached out, Alina takes advice from her counselor to practice self-care. She says counseling has helped personally and academically.

She hopes other student, no matter their struggles will see how it can help them, too.

"If I, as the campus president can reach out for help and share my own mental struggles and talk about mental health, then I think every student should be able to without shame, reach out for help and get the help that they need before it’s too late."

Help that is available to every SPC student.

The Mental Health and Wellness Program at St. Petersburg College offers:

• Counseling for SPC students through Mantra Health. To sign up, click here
• Free mental health information
• Free information about community resources including transportation, housing, food and more
  
  

Crisis Resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• Mobile Crisis Response Team: 727-362-4424

Social/Human Services Directory:

• 211 Tampa Bay Cares offers information about and referrals to local social/human services. Call 211 or text your zip code to 898211
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline / Crisis Center of Tampa Bay

• National Alliance on Mental Illness