A new organization on campus is giving students with disabilities a voice.
The group is Gators for All Abilities, and it’s looking to empower UF students with disabilities, said Shannon Marble, the president of the organization.
She said the organization, which became official this semester, is working to change stigmas surrounding disabilities. Right now, they’re teaching on-campus clubs to be more inclusive and accessible to students with disabilities — both physical and mental. The club is also working on creating a directory of on-campus resources for students with disabilities.
"I personally felt like students with disabilities didn’t really have a voice or an outlet to represent their needs and concerns on campus," said Marble, a UF health education and behavior senior.
The 21-year-old said she became passionate about disabilities after she tried to use counseling sessions at the UF Counseling and Wellness Center in the Spring. This was before she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
After trying to make appointments several times, she said she had to go off-campus for counseling services.
"While the Counseling and Wellness Center is a great resource on campus, some of its resources need to be expanded to fit the population of UF students that need them," Marble said.
To make the CWC more accessible, Marble is working to require that class syllabi include CWC contact information, along with the Disability Resource Center’s already-present contact information.
Hannah Lee, the health affairs executive adviser for Student Government, said students often think the only place they can go for help is the CWC.
"If there’s something that (UF health care services) could make better, it would be marketing certain services and, in general, being more visible to the students," the 21-year-old international studies senior said.
Lee said students don’t know about alternative counseling services, such as U Matter, We Care, which can help students manage stress and acclimate to UF. U Matter, We Care is seeing four times as many students this semester than during Spring.
"Mental health in general is getting more attention than it used to," Lee said. "It doesn’t have to be a stigmatized thing."
Alvin Lawrence, the interim clinical director at the Counseling and Wellness Center, said the center is consistently fuller near midterms and the end of semesters.
"The availability of counseling services is a pretty common concern on most college campuses," Lawrence said.
