Improving mental health and wellbeing in Jesmond is the aim of a Newcastle University-led event taking place tomorrow (Tuesday 14th May) at Jesmond Library.

As part of Jesmond Community Festival, the Living In Jesmond event is part of the university’s efforts to enlist the help of permanent residents in addressing mental health issues among their student neighbours. 

The university’s director of student health and wellbeing, Sally Ingram, will be speaking alongside welfare and equality student officer Jack Green. He explained to JesmondLocal how stress and pressures from university can affect students negatively and how tomorrow’s talk aims to highlight how today’s students face different issues than those in previous generations. 

“When I’ve been speaking to local residents, they do say that they find students are very different from how they were, even a couple of years ago and that they can see that the issue of mental health can have a big impact on students’ lives,” he said.

“I think we’ve built up a lot of relationships between the Students’ Union and the local community and communication is ongoing. Local residents want to share their wisdom and advice with student neighbours. 

“University can be a really stressful experience and it’s always going to be – so it’s about making sure that residents feel like they are equipped to deal with mental health issues when talking to students and assuring them that things will be ok.

“Students tend to be quite young and haven’t had the same experiences as their neighbours, so maybe they don’t appreciate [older residents’] point of view as much. 

“Events like this are a way to get students and residents talking to each other. That way they can both share their point of view and understand each other better, and that will lead to a better community.”

The relationship between permanent residents and students is a recurring topic for the universities and city council. At JesmondLocal’s hustings event last month the issue of students feeling unwelcome in their community was brought up by several members of the audience.

Green believes that the Living In Jesmond event will allow these concerns to be aired and discussed, leading to more sustainable relations between the two.

“I think students are welcomed into the community as a whole. There’s a lot of local residents who have worked with students over the years and who see real benefits of students being in Jesmond.

“The difference between a house and a home is feeling welcome and being somewhere you feel comfortable spending time. If there is anxiety when you leave your front door that people don’t want you there, that can have a massive impact on your mental health and the way your day starts.”

On its webpage, the Students’ Union has launched Love Living In, a page specifically for students living in local communities in Newcastle, Jesmond included. It describes what their responsibilities are and how they can get involved.

“At the Students’ Union we appreciate that as much as students bring to the community, there can be some negative sides. It’s about being considerate in the community, being kind to your neighbours and being understanding,” said Green.

For more information and to find out about other festival events, visit: http://jesmondfestival.org.uk/.