The Spirituality and Wellness Centre (SWC) at North Campus recently celebrated its first anniversary of being a safe space for the Humber community to be their authentic selves.
Stephanie Boachie, coordinator of the SWC, is thrilled with how the Centre has grown since its official opening in March 2023. Boachie says students often remark that, while the SWC has only been open for a year, it feels longer because it’s become an integral part of the Humber community.
Located on the second floor of the Learning Resource Commons in room 2112, the SWC is dedicated to enhancing student well-being and fostering a safer, more inclusive campus environment. It’s also a respectful space in which students can explore different cultures, religions and spiritualities. It also promotes student mindfulness and the connection to the mind, body and spirit.
The SWC is a place for students to learn more about ways to improve their health and well-being. It includes meditation rooms for students who wish to pray, offering comfortable seating options, mats and prayer rugs, soft ambient lighting to assist with relaxation and stress-relieving activities.
SWC staff organize several events each month and the space is used as a drop-in location when they’re not hosting. Stop by and you will find students engaged in conversation with their peers, studying, working on homework and making new friends.
“We’re so grateful and happy to have celebrated our first anniversary and how we’ve been able to bring so much attention to the Spirituality and Wellness Centre in that time,” said Boachie. “We’re going to continue to grow and remain a space where students can be exactly who they are without judgement.”
The SWC offers wellness activities such as art, origami and aromatherapy sessions that are designed to calm the mind and improve well-being.
They also serve as a first point of contact for many students when it comes to health and wellness resources at Humber. Boachie and her team can direct the students to other resources, such as the Student Wellness & Accessibility Centre, if they require more support.
As their name implies, spirituality is a big part of the SWC.
“I feel that spirituality often goes hand-in-hand with wellness,” said Boachie.
She said Humber has an incredibly diverse population, so they offer a wide array of religious and spiritual books and texts. At the SWC, for example, they have copies of the Torah, the Bible and the Quran as well as African and Indigenous spirituality books.
“The Centre allows students to engage with their peers and learn more about others who may have different religions or backgrounds,” said Boachie, adding they’re fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive Humber community amongst different faith groups and spiritualities through literacy and connection.
The SWC partners with a Catholic church that comes to campus to host a mass several times throughout the year and have also partnered with the Humber Muslim Student Association to assist during Ramadan with a donation for the Iftar.
Boachie says it’s important to build connections with Humber’s spiritual and religious communities to let them know the SWC is a place for them.
Supporting international students is another key focus of the SWC. Boachie held a mix-and-mingle earlier this year to learn more about the services international students were looking for on campus. What she heard was that many of them were feeling anxious so she created the Mind Matters: Navigating Anxiety and Everyday Life workshop that was well attended.
Boachie added that the SWC welcomes staff and faculty to visit and learn more about the resource so they can promote the SWC to their students.
Find out more by visiting the Spirituality and Wellness Centre website.