Staying Connected While Social Distancing

Healthy social connections improve our capacity to cope with stress and can boost our overall physical and emotional well-being. In a time of social or physical distancing, it may be difficult to maintain social connections and social support. In this module, we’ll discuss three main topics:

The importance of social connections for our health and well-being and ways to stay connected while practicing social distancing.
How to create a virtual culture of care by supporting others and being an active bystander.
Explore practices and resources that can boost social connection and mitigate feelings of isolation, loneliness, or distress.

Presenters and Content Curators

Michelle Emery, MA

Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator

Michelle Emery, MA

Michelle (she/her/hers) serves as the Coordinator for the Be That One Suicide Prevention Program (BT1), which utilizes a public health approach to implement suicide prevention strategies across the UT-Austin campus by peer outreach, education, and support. Michelle brings experience in youth leadership development, social justice education, domestic violence advocacy, mental health system transformation. Her professional interests include restorative justice, community accountability and other community-based anti-violence efforts, and promoting recovery-oriented organizational change among peer and clinical providers. On a personal level, Michelle enjoys cooking with her partner, trying new restaurants, being outdoors and reading her horoscope.

Sahtiya Hammell, MEd

Bystander Intervention Programs Coordinator

Sahtiya Hammell, M.Ed.

Sahtiya Hosoda Hammell (she/her/hers) completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University before going on to earn her Master of Education in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia, where her interests were community engagement, behavioral transformation and educational policy. She has spent her career in the education sector in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and Hawaii and is excited to join the UT Austin community. As the Health Education Coordinator of BeVocal, Sahtiya seeks to educate faculty, students and staff about bystander intervention across a range of target issues. In her spare time, Sahtiya tries to stretch in new ways, whether in the kitchen, on a yoga mat or with a good book.

About Longhorn Wellness Center

The Longhorn Wellness Center (LWC) supports the missions of University Health Services and the Counseling and Mental Health Center by addressing priority college health issues. We do this using multi-level, evidence-based prevention strategies such as peer education, social marketing, social norm campaigns, environmental changes, and strategic campus partnerships. For more information, visit LWC's website (Links to an external site.).