Feeling overwhelmed about finals, grieving a loss or stressing about graduation are just a few of the issues that are thoughtfully handled by the Campus Awareness Referral Education Team.

Since 2007, the six-member team- ranging from psychological experts, to campus safety officers  has regularly collaborated to help students and provide non-clinical interventions.

The services of the CARE Team are offered to all  Cal Lutheran students ranging from undergraduate to doctoral candidates.

Salma Loo, assistant director for Residence Life and Student Conduct said the most common concerns students come in with, “might be academic concerns, family concerns, mental health, social or adjustment issues, substance abuse, distorted eating, grief, general health, really just general support for some students, financial insecurity, homicidal ideation, self harm, and identity based stressed. Those are some of the areas we look at.”

Loo said she often sees mental health concerns or incoming students who need extra support adjusting to college or seniors who will soon graduate.

“The main thing we stress is that we aren’t an emergency crisis response; if someone’s worried they should be calling campus safety, public safety or 911 if there is immediate concern. We deal with the non-urgent, long-term concerns to make sure the student is supported continually,” said Angela Naginey, senior director of student success.   

The CARE Team stresses that the privacy of the student is always protected brcause of the Federal Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Naginey said, they have a new software that helps keep track of all the information and notes. This way all of the members on the CARE Team are on the same page, and then decide who is best suited to reach out to that student.

Transfer student Michael Parsons said the CARE Team would have been helpful for him during difficult personal times.   

He previously attended Louis and Clark College in Portland Oregon.

“They didn’t have any feature like the CARE team. If they had it would have been invaluable. At the time my parents had no idea what to do with me and the school didn’t have much to offer in terms of how can we address it,” Parsons said.

Parsons’ parents had to do their own research in order to find him the support he needed.

“I feel like a service such as CARE would bring information and advisory that a lot of people lack,” Parsons said.

While CARE offers support and non-clinical interventions, students seeking immediate help can contact Counseling and Psychological Services.

Rose Riehl 

Reporter