Montgomery County Community College: $1.1 Million Grant Helps MCCC Open A New Wellness Center And Continue The POWER Program

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Diane VanDyke

January 4, 2022

Montgomery County Community College recently received a $1.1 million Community Mental
Health Services Block Grant from Montgomery County to open a Wellness Center at its
Pottstown Campus in 2022 and continue its Partnership on Work Enrichment and Readiness
(POWER) program.

These funds were targeted by the State for community colleges to support the higher
education of individuals experiencing mental health challenges. The grant provides
$100,000 for MCCC’s POWER Program. This free program helps individuals in mental health and addiction recovery develop
and reach their educational and career goals through a two-credit college course that
focuses on college and career preparation skills. Since the POWER Program started
in 2006, it has served nearly 600 students.

POWER Program

The grant provides $1 million for MCCC’s new Wellness Center, which will be located
on the first floor of the College’s North Hall building, 16 West High Street, Pottstown.

“Long before anyone heard of COVID-19, Montgomery County Community College recognized
that many students struggled in their classes because they needed help with essential
needs, such as physical and mental well-being, food and housing security, transportation
and family care, among others,” said Nichole Kang, Wellness Center Director. “The
pandemic and its lingering impact have amplified those needs.”

According to the results of a recent Healthy Minds Survey involving 707 MCCC students,
approximately 80% of the participants said that mental health was affecting their
schoolwork, said Kang.

“With COVID and isolation, there has been a new pressure on students to get back to
normal,” she said. “However, students may have parents who are unemployed, lost family
members or are experiencing lingering effects from having COVID.”

Aligned with MCCC’s holistic approach to student support and success, the Wellness
Center will offer comprehensive assistance for individual needs, expanding some of
MCCC’s existing programs and adding new support services.

“There will be an educational space to provide wellness programming to students and
staff/faculty, and meeting space where students can get help for their non-academic
needs from a resource coach and connect with peers,” Kang said. “We’ll also have private
space for in-person mental health therapy provided by partner organizations, which
will be available to both students and community members.”

The onsite services will augment the existing online services that are available at
no cost to all students, which includes asynchronous chat and live telehealth therapy.

The Wellness Center will house MCCC’s Stock Up for Success food pantry with refrigerators
for produce and dairy products, as well as freezers. The pantry also includes toiletries
and personal care items.

“With the expanded pantry space, we’ll be able to increase the food offerings,” said
Kang, noting that MCCC will collaborate with Gwynedd Mercy University on a food insecurity
project, receiving food from the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities and Manna on Main Street.

The Wellness Center will create a convenient, central location for services, including
Veterans Services, the ACT 101 Scholars Program and the Keystone Education Yields Success program, which will have offices in the Wellness Center.

Overall, the Wellness Center will be an open and welcoming space where students can
feel comfortable and find community.

 “We’ll have a sensory space for students on the autism spectrum who may have sensory
needs or for students who simply need to unplug and decompress,” Kang said. “There
will be space for meditation and prayer.”

To help manage and coordinate the services, MCCC will be hiring a Wellness Center
manager and a part-time resource coach. The College will be starting construction
for the Wellness Center during the spring 2022 semester.

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.