University of Ottawa students received an emailed statement from university president Jacques Fremont on May 22, informing of the death of a student in one of the university’s residences.
This is the second student death to have occurred in less than a month. Fremont sent out a similar email then, asking students to respect the privacy of the deceased student’s family.
“I would like all members of our (University of Ottawa) community to join me in expressing our heartfelt condolences to the student’s family, friends and classmates during this very difficult time,” Fremont wrote in the statement, further advising grieving students to seek help through counselling services such as Good2Talk, and the U of O’s on-campus resources in order to deal with “this trying situation.”
The statement ends with another warning to students to be mindful of their use of social media and other communications regarding the death of the student, and that the university will not be providing further details regarding the incident to respect the privacy of the student’s family.
A non-comprehensive list of local mental health resources appears below…
On-campus (free or covered by healthcare plan)…
- University of Ottawa Health Services (UOHS), 100 Marie-Curie Private
- Offers counselling, psychiatric services, individual, couple or family therapy, access to psycho-educational groups and referrals to specialists off-campus
- Student Academic Success Service (SASS), 100 Marie-Curie Private
- Offers individual counselling, peer-counselling, workshops, online therapy and group counselling using new stepped model; referrals
- Pride Centre, 85 University Private
- Offers mentoring services and one-on-one consultation services
- Faculty mentoring centres (locations differ by faculty)
- Specialized mentoring services catered to the needs of students in each faculty
Off-campus…
- Mental health hotlines…
- Drugs and Alcohol Helpline: 1-866-531-2600
- Fem’aide: 1-877-336-2433
- Good2Talk: 1-866-925-5454
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6668 or text CONNECT to 686868
- Mental Health Crisis Line: 613-722-6914
- Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region: (613) 238-3311
- Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre: 613-562-2333
- Tel-Aide Outaouais: 613-741-6433
- Trans Life Line: 1-877-330-6366
- Walk-in counselling clinics (six Ottawa locations)…
- Somerset West Community Health Centre (55 Eccles Street)
- South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre (1355 Bank Street)
- Family Services Ottawa (312 Parkdale Avenue)
- Jewish Family Services of Ottawa (300-2255 Carling Avenue)
- Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization(959 Wellington St. W)
- CFS/SFC Ottawa (310 Olmstead Road)
- Community health and resource centres (13 in Ottawa)
- Carlington Community Health Centre (900 Merivale Road)
- Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre (215-1980 Ogilvie Road)
- Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode Community Resource Centre (1547 Merivale Road, Unit 240)
- Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Health Centre (225 Donald Street)
- Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (221 Nelson Street)
- South East Ottawa Community Health Centre (1355 Bank Street)
- Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (2 MacNeil Court)
- Centretown Community Health Centre (420 Cooper Street)
- Lowertown Community Resource Centre (40 Cobourg Street)
- Orleans-Cumberland Community Health Centre (240 Centrum Boulevard)
- Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre(1365 Richmond Road)
- Somerset West Community Health Centre (55 Eccles Street)
- Vanier Community Service Centre (270 Marier Avenue)
