Algoma U first in Canada to offer Tailwind mental health program

Algoma University is the first Canadian post-secondary institution to implement the Tailwind training application which is designed to "prepare incoming university students for the mental stresses of their academic journey," states a news release issued by the university.

While the mental health tool is intended primarily for new, incoming students, it is available to all students across Algoma University's campuses.

Full text of the news release follows:

Algoma University has recently launched a new mental wellness awareness program for students; the first institution in Canada to implement this new and groundbreaking tool. The revolutionary new program, designed by Canadian health tech firm Tailwind, aims to prepare incoming university students for the mental stresses of their academic journey while organically gathering and harnessing their perspectives into the process of building better future mental health support programs.

The Tailwind training application is an addition to Algoma University’s current transition programming and is shared with incoming and current students to help them guide their own mental wellness journey while simultaneously helping them prepare for the demands of life as post-secondary students. Though aimed primarily at incoming new students, this revolutionary tool is available for all students. Tailwind provides students with intelligent and personalized mental health support both before they begin their post-secondary academic journey, and throughout their time as undergrads.

“The health and wellness of our students is our utmost priority, and the past couple of years have been extraordinarily stressful for graduating high school students and students studying within the university sector,” shared Karen Hudson, director, Student Success and Wellbeing at Algoma University. “We recognize having access to equitable and diverse student wellness supports leads to high levels of academic achievement. We are committed to our responsibility to ensure we have strong culturally appropriate programming and support in place. I am grateful to the Student Success and Student leadership teams working on initiatives like this and believe with this partnership, we are another step closer to helping all students who come to Algoma realize their dreams, goals and aspirations.”

Tailwind CEO Devin Golets believes the pandemic has further accentuated the need for much deeper, broader and smarter mental health awareness interventions at all post-secondary institutions. “Preparing students in advance, instead of only intervening at a time of crisis, is not only more prudent but it’s also more ethically responsible,” said Golets. “Our program and platform enables post-secondary institutions like Algoma University to build much more resilience into their students’ lives well ahead of their first day on campus.”

Algoma University currently offers students unlimited access to health and wellness supports 365/7 days a week in over 150 languages. Partnerships include access to Homewood Health, TalkCampus, Good 2 Talk, and I.M Well which have been integrated into the Tailwind application, making student support available in an easily accessible one-stop-shop format.

To learn more about Tailwind at Algoma, visit our website.