Longhorn SHARE Project - Mental Health Peer Support

Who We Are

Genuine friendships and social support can be hard to find at a large university like UT Austin, and the demand for mental health services continues to rise each year. Many students hesitate to seek clinical support in tough times due to stigma, uncertainty, or any number of other reasons, and if they lack close friends on campus they might not know where to turn. The Longhorn SHARE Project was created to address these gaps, offering non-clinical peer-led support through the Longhorn Wellness Center since the Fall of 2022!

Our two main services - weekly peer-led SHARE Communities and one-time SHARE Circles requested by faculty, student orgs, first-year seminars and other groups - help students connect around shared experiences and struggles, build interpersonal confidence, and find their place on campus while learning to support others in return. Read more about us on our website!

All peer "SHARE Support Specialists" have applied and been admitted to the program and complete a 3-credit UT course to learn active listening, motivational interviewing, group facilitation, and other supportive communication skills and are certified in Mental Health First Aid. They benefit from ongoing support from their peer cohort, Graduate Assistant, and full-time Program Coordinator as they facilitate weekly SHARE Communities around their own lived experiences and mental heath challenges and lead SHARE Circles across campus.The SHARE Student Advisory Group also meets weekly with their Coordinator to continue improving peer support services, administrative processes, and our outreach and social media strategy, as well as planning special events and community-building socials.

What We're Fundraising For

The Longhorn SHARE Project doesn’t have a recurring source of funding, so we need YOUR help to cover costs for the next academic year!

• SHARE Community Meeting Supplies: $1200 | We offer an average of 12 different SHARE Communities, and they each need about $50 per semester to cover supplies (fidgets, craft materials, etc.) and snacks for their weekly meetings. Read about the awesome communities peers created this past Spring: https://healthyhorns.utexas.ed...
• Marketing Materials: $1000 | Posters, stickers, and pins help us build name recognition so more students hear about our resources!
• Special Events: $1500 | We hope to host new "slow-friending" SHARE Circle dinners in the Fall and Spring next year, as well as continue our August retreat (for Mental Health First Aid training + Fall semester planning) and end-of-semester celebrations for SHARE Support Specialists.
• Graduate Assistant Wages: $5700 | This amount would help us cover half of our indispensable 20-hour GA's hourly wages ($19/hour) for the academic year.

Your Impact

SHARE has become a special, magical, and impactful part of many students' experiences at UT since we launched, and each semester we connect with more and more peers as the word spreads across campus. Your donation will help students like those below who've shared their experiences with us:

SHARE Community members:

“[My SHARE Community] was a space where I felt at home. I felt like I could speak freely about my mental health and it would be received in a supportive and nonjudgmental way.”

“They [the peer facilitators] did an amazing job making me feel welcome, choosing interesting and relevant discussion topics, and modeling vulnerability and connection. I loved getting to speak with them, and think they couldn't have done a better job in their role!”

“I loved the conversations we had, and I felt so at home being a part of my SHARE Community. I felt fully seen and cherished (and able to be myself) for the first time in a long time, and it was so meaningful.”

SHARE Circle participants:

“I enjoyed getting to hear about people’s values and the struggles they are facing to be able to offer comfort and understanding. It made me realize a lot of us are going through the same things, which was validating.”

“I love my girls so so much, and hearing what they’ve really been feeling and having space to feel together was powerful. [The facilitators] were amazing and showed so much care!”

SHARE Support Specialists:

“This might sound cheesy, but I truly feel like I was rescued by SHARE. The program helped me learn so much about myself and what I want and need from those around me, which in turn helped me learn a lot more about what others want and need.”

“With what I’ve learned from SHARE these last few semesters and the connections I’ve made within it, this semester I was able to truly cultivate feelings of love, acceptance, and compassion towards myself and others, and I feel proud to have come so far. I genuinely feel hopeful for myself and my future.”

“I have so much more confidence in myself and my abilities and have learned how to be a better leader…I wouldn’t trade everything I’ve learned in SHARE or the connections I’ve made for the world. As I venture through the rest of my college experience and life as a whole, I feel extremely empowered and encouraged thanks to SHARE.”