Our WorkEquitySupporting Students’ Basic NeedsStudent Health and Wellness

Student Health and Wellness

Raising awareness of California community college mental health needs.

FoundationCCC’s Student Health and Wellness efforts include our partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in the California Community Colleges Health and Wellness Program and Wellness Central, as well as supporting student leaders in our CCC Student Ambassador Program. Through the CCC Health and Wellness program, we support a statewide effort focusing on prevention and early intervention strategies which address the mental health needs of California community college students and advance the collaboration between community colleges and community based agencies. Additionally, in merging our CCC Wellness Ambassadors with our CCC Student Ambassador program, we now train students around wellness resources, stigma reduction, peer-to-peer outreach techniques, and other basic needs resources, encouraging students to connect their peers with basic needs and mental health resources.

Program Services

The California Community Colleges Health and Wellness Program

Implemented in 2011, the California Community Colleges Health and Wellness program is a statewide effort focusing on prevention and early intervention strategies which address the mental health needs of California community college students and advance the collaboration between community colleges and community based agencies. 

The program was originally funded by the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63) as one of several Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives implemented by the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA), an organization of California counties working to improve mental health outcomes for individuals, families and communities.

The CCC Health and Wellness program is a partnership between the Chancellor’s Office and FoundationCCC and is based on three strategic directions: 

  • faculty and staff training
  • peer-to- peer support
  • prevention and early intervention
Visit the program page

Wellness Central: Your Space is Your Pace

Piloted by the Health Services Association California Community Colleges (HSACCC)  in partnership with the California Virtual Campus (CVC) and FoundationCCC, Wellness Central is a free health and wellness resource created especially for California community college students, allowing them to access mental health resources in their space at their pace.

Wellness Central is an interactive resource that allows students to navigate the Six Dimensions of Wellness: Academic, Financial, Spiritual, Emotional, Social and Physical.  Within each of these topics, students will then find subtopics that will connect the different areas of their wellbeing.

Wellness Central is brought to you by HSACCC in partnership with the CVC and FoundationCCC.

Visit Wellness Central

Wellness Ambassador Program

FoundationCCC previously operated the California Community Colleges Wellness Ambassador Program to train community college students to serve as advocates for the mental health and wellness of their peers. To focus more on holistic support of student’s basic needs, FoundationCCC has merged the CCC Wellness Ambassadors with our Community College Student Ambassador program. This program now trains students around wellness resources, stigma reduction, peer-to-peer outreach techniques, and other basic needs resources, such as CalFresh, tax credits, and low-cost auto insurance, encouraging students to connect their peers with basic needs resources.

Community College Student Ambassador Program

Crisis Text Line

Crisis Text Line, in collaboration with the Chancellor’s Office and FoundationCCC, provides free, text-based, confidential assistance to California Community College students. Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7 text service which helps support students who may be experiencing a mental health challenge.

The campaign is currently working to expand services and increase awareness of the Crisis Text Line service at all 116 California Community Colleges. Colleges can utilize current materials available for download to spread awareness on their campuses.

Crisis Text Line
Download materials to spread awareness

Program Benefits

  • Peer-to-peer outreach

  • Mental health toolkits

  • Text-based counseling

Through physical and digital toolkits and trainings students around peer-to-peer outreach, FoundationCCC connects students to important resources that promote physical and mental wellness.

FoundationCCC provides system-wide mental health toolkits highlighting resources, such as the Crisis Text Line. CTL is a free and confidential resource that connects students to trained counselors via text. Mental health resources via text meet students with where they are at and provide support through a familiar mode of communication. Simple and easy to use, California Community College students text “COURAGE” to 741-741 to get connected with a trained counselor.

Program Impact

  • 9,000 Students

    utilized the Crisis Text Line to get support with Anxiety/Stress to the COVID-19 pandemic to grief and countless other topics

  • 18,300 conversations

    through CTL from students reaching out multiple times for support

  • 85% of “high risk” texters

    were connected in less than 5 minutes

Resources