Not sure where to turn? Start here! From mental health, food support to academic guidance, WUSA has your back. Here’s your one-stop hub for WUSA supports, services, and resources made for students, by students.

Mental Health Supports

There are tons of on- and off-campus mental health resources to help you manage stress, burnout, or whatever life throws your way. Some of these supports include:

• Empower Me – Provides 24/7 mental health and wellness support, giving you access to counselling, coaching, and resources anytime you need them.
• Mates Peer Support – Offers supportive, confidential chats with trained peers who get what student life is like and are here to listen.
• Crisis Lines & Community Supports – Connect you with immediate support from trained responders during moments of distress or when you need someone right away.
• RAISE – Offers mental health support through a racialized lense, with an emphasis on identity and intersectionality.
• Glow Centre – Mental wellness support for queer, trans, and questioning students.

For an extensive list of student mental health support, visit our mental health support page here.

WUSA-Run Student Services

These services exist because students created them for students just like you!

• ICSN – builds community for international, exchange, and Canadian students.
• Women’s Centre – provides a safe, inclusive space offering peer support through an intersectional lens, workshops, events, sexual health resources, and free menstrual hygiene hampers.
• Mates –is a peer support service dedicated to student well-being at UW, offering confidential one-on-one peer support appointments along with an in-person wellness lounge.
• RAISE – offers a safe space for BIPOC students to connect, providing confidential peer support through a decolonial, intersectional lens alongside education and community-building initiatives that address racism and xenophobia on campus.
• Glow Centre – is a 2SLGBTQIA+ community for Waterloo, fostering healthy attitudes toward all sexual orientations and gender identities through peer support, social events, and resources that build identity-affirming community.

Academic Support

Need help navigating policies, appeals, or academic challenges? We’ve got experts (and students who’ve been there) ready to guide you.

• Ombuds Office – Provides independent, confidential support to help resolve academic and non-academic issues fairly and respectfully.
• CAPS – Offers student-led support to help you understand policies, prepare appeals, and advocate for yourself academically.

Health & Dental Plan

Your WUSA Health & Dental Plan gives you affordable extended coverage for things like prescriptions, dental care, therapy, vision needs, and more — so you’re supported beyond basic healthcare.

Legal Protection Program

Got a sketchy landlord or a co-op contract question? WUSA’s Student Legal Protection Program gives you access to legal advice, coaching, and representation so you’re never tackling legal challenges alone.

Food Support

No student should have to choose between studying and eating. WUSA offers confidential food resources when money’s tight.

• Pay What You Can (PWYC) Meals – Provides ready-to-eat meals at a price you choose, making balanced food accessible on any budget.
• Food Support Service – Offers confidential food and hygiene hampers to support students facing food insecurity.

Advertising with WUSA

Got something students should know about? Promote your event, service, club, or opportunity through WUSA’s advertising channels and reach thousands of students.

Other Helpful Resources

• Student Life Centre (SLC) – Your 24/7 campus hub full of study spots, food options, lounge spaces, and student life energy.
• Turnkey Desk – Open around the clock for questions, room bookings, lost and found, printing help, directions, and more — your go-to place for quick support.

WUSA is here to support you with resources created for students, by students, and backed by dedicated staff who care about your wellbeing. We’re here to make campus life a little easier and a lot more manageable. If you’re ever unsure where to turn, reach out or drop by the Turnkey Desk, we’re always here to listen, connect you to the right resources, and help you get back on your feet. When you need support, WUSA has your back!

Alexandra Minard

Communications Assistant