By Allie Lousch
K-State News and Communication Servicces
MANHATTAN — March 23, Kansas State University will host its third All In for K-State day of giving with the objective to increase access to mental health services for K-State students.
During last year's All In for K-State, more than $500,000 was raised in one day to help students save money on textbooks. This year, K-Staters and friends are invited to go All In for K-State to reduce the stigma of mental health and raise awareness of essential mental health resources at K-State. Funds raised will support Lafene Counseling and Psychological Services and the Morrison Family Center for Student Well-being at K-State.
"There's a strong connection between a student's sense of well-being and their academic success," said Thomas Lane, vice president for student life and dean of students. "If a student is struggling with mental or physical health, or financial or social well-being, that can negatively affect their academic success."
One-quarter of all U.S. college students have seriously considered suicide, and K-State is no exception. Of K-State students surveyed in the spring 2020 semester and before the pandemic, 26% said they'd thought about killing themselves at some point. In that same survey, 16% of students said they'd made a plan or had attempted to kill themselves. Fifty-seven percent of students surveyed in spring 2020 said they'd felt hopeless sometime in the last 30 days.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues for many. Since 2019, K-State Counseling and Psychological has seen a 27% increase in use of its services.