Students walk into college carrying far more than textbooks and a phone.
Family pressure and financial obligations can easily lead to anxiety or depression.
At Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, the response isn’t to look away from that reality, it’s to build systems that meet it head-on.
That approach has earned the college national recognition for the second year in a row.
HCCC has won Insight Into Academia magazine’s “Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being” Award, a national honor recognizing institutions that build a culture of care for students, faculty and staff through innovative programs.
The recognition reflects a roster of mental health and wellness services the college has built out to be holistic, accessible and equity-centered, including:
- The HCCC Mental Health Counseling and Wellness Center: A place that takes a stigma-free approach to managing stress, anxiety and depression. The center offers free, confidential in-person and virtual counseling, 24/7 crisis hotlines, and teletherapy through partnerships such as Uwill.
- TalkCampus: A global peer-to-peer support platform that operates in a safe, anonymous environment.
- Mental Health First Aid training: A program that reached 415 staff members and 118 students, teaching them to identify and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.
- QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer) training: An effort focused on crisis warning signs and intervention, which reached 168 staff members and 237 students.
- Social work interns: A group who helps expand the college’s capacity for wellness and mindfulness support.
- Wraparound supports: Available through the Hudson Helps Resource Center, it includes food pantries, housing assistance, a Career Closet, transportation help, emergency funding and Chromebooks.
For HCCC Interim President Lisa Dougherty, the award reflects an institutional commitment that goes beyond any single program.
“We are steadfast in ensuring innovative, collaborative, and culturally responsive practices are available to everyone at the College,” she said. “This includes strengthening partnerships, enhancing early intervention and outreach, and embedding mental health and wellness supports. We are grateful to the staff who work to develop and provide sustainable, coordinated care models.”
To be clear, the staff benefits, too.
Employee resource groups, flexible work schedules and professional development are available for faculty and staff, Dougherty said.
All of this caught the eye of Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of Insight Into Academia.
She said the Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being award exists precisely because that kind of institutional commitment often goes unrecognized.
“We know that institutions are not always recognized for their dedication to and prioritizing mental health and well-being services and support for their students and employees,” she said. “We are proud to honor the colleges and universities who are standouts as the need for these resources continues to grow substantially.”
This year’s honorees span 38 colleges and universities nationwide, from Dartmouth College to Virginia Tech to community colleges across the country.
Hudson County Community College is the only New Jersey institution on the list.
For information about Hudson County Community College, go to hccc.edu.
