Washington, DC – The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), in partnership with META, is pleased to announce it has received a $270,000 grant from ECMC Foundation to make mental health services available to students via the META platform. College counselors will be able to connect with students remotely, allowing schools to reopen campuses safely and maintain physical distancing requirements between staff and students.
The grant will provide all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with free access through September 30, 2021 to META Teletherapy, a mental health platform that connects the schools’ counselors or META’s network of providers to students. The platform provides an easy, private, and HIPAA-compliant option and promotes the use of teletherapy to improve the emotional and mental health of students. The grant includes a $50,000 student support fund to help offset financial hardships that students may experience when accessing META. TMCF will work directly with HBCUs and META to implement and manage this grant.
Mental health is a growing concern among college populations, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a recent survey conducted by META, 84 percent of college students report that COVID-19 has negatively impacted their mental health and are struggling with stress and anxiety. Social distancing requirements have made teletherapy a necessity for mental health providers to protect themselves and their clients.
“This year has seen an extraordinary number of challenging situations for students, including the disparate impact of COVID-19 in the African-American community, being forced off-campus mid-semester with many students not having the necessary technology, food or housing immediately available, followed immediately by the racial injustice being address this summer,” said Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of TMCF. “This grant can provide students with mental health resources in a confidential, easy and comfortable manner. We are so thankful to ECMC Foundation for making this grant possible”.
Balaji “Raj” Rajan, the CEO and founder of META said, “It is our duty, given the current pandemic and the host of other problems, to make these solutions available to our colleges and their students. We are thankful to the leadership of TMCF and ECMC Foundation and happy to find such mission-oriented partners in our effort to solve a major problem for our youth.”
ABOUT THE THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND (TMCF):
Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the PK-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs.
TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit:www.tmcf.org.
ABOUT META TELETHERAPY:
META is the nation’s first teletherapy app built specifically for college students. META offers real-time, video counseling with licensed mental health professionals from the privacy of an Android or Apple smartphone. META’s mission is to circumvent the stigma surrounding mental health by offering users an easy way to receive counseling without having to visit an on-campus location. The app is free to download, and sessions can be paid for via credit card or insurance. www.meta.app.
ABOUT ECMC FOUNDATION:
ECMC Foundation is a national funder focused on postsecondary education. ECMC Foundation’s mission is to inspire and to facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes—especially among underserved populations—through evidence-based innovation.
Learn more by visiting www.ecmcfoundation.org