Survivor now helping others
Amber Kealy once struggled with mental health. Now she’s wanting to help students.
Wintec student accommodation residential leader (RL), Amber Kealy once struggled with anxiety and depression. Now, she’s wanting to break this cycle and help students so they don’t feel isolated within their first year of study.
Amber previously struggled with anxiety and depression during her first year. She said the hardest aspect of her journey was letting people in and reaching out for help when she needed it.
“The way we live at Wintec behind locked doors, it is so easy to block people out and no one else can enter.”
Amber felt like she couldn’t go to the RLs when she was a first-year student because she didn’t have a strong relationship with them. This is something she wanted to change when she became an RL.
While Amber was working at Wintec’s student accommodation over the holidays, she was inspired to open a safe haven.
Although Amber doesn’t see herself as a service, she sees her safe haven as something that she can offer to other students, and so she runs a safe haven the first Sunday of each month.
“It’s something that you don’t want to sit back and analyze for years to come.”
Amber wants to welcome students in a friendly way, and talk about their concerns or mental health issues. If students are undiagnosed they’re still welcome to come along; each student is given a diary to write down any concerns worrying them.
Amber says personal issues start occurring around the fourth month; the statistics show that students struggle with homesickness, finding new friends, and feeling isolated. Amber reckons every student needs support during their first year as they’re away from family and friends.
“The struggle of getting there with anonymous people is another struggle as well.”
Amber believes the safe haven will help Wintec accommodation students.
Amber also mentions how most people want the best straight away, when they don’t realise this is a learning process; but says she’s the type of person to give someone a chance, and this is what she’s doing with the safe haven.
