"We continue to upgrade the facility to provide an even more comfortable space in an effort to continue to increase campus utilization of this historical facility."

Once upon a time there was a small white cottage trimmed in red with a stone façade called the Drop-In Center. Though it wasn't hidden deep in the woods, this cottage was sandwiched between two large buildings known as the Student Center and Richardson Hall. And while it fell under the shadows of these two larger buildings, the people who dwelled inside it refused to allow the building to be overshadowed by any building. The little cottage may not have physically grown in all its years on campus, but the wellness programs and services that come from it have unfolded by leaps and bounds.

Whenever staff, faculty or students show interest in learning about health topics, Kristen Afflitto (pictured right) and Tanya Purdy (left) respond by creating programs on campus.

According to the pair, Susan Skalsky, executive director of the University Health and Counseling Services, was brought on board in January 2000 to build the wellness team to better coordinate service to students. However, recognizing that wellness education is something to which the entire campus community should have access, the director expanded those services to include faculty and staff.

"We believe there's a need for wellness programs and they will become a vital part of the campus experience, not just for students, but for faculty and staff as well," said Afflitto "There is tangible evidence because we've filled the facility to maximum capacity several times."

Afflitto and Purdy recently discussed the Drop-In Center and some of the programs they offer to the campus community.

Q. What is the role of the University Health and Counseling Services on campus?
A. In keeping with our expanding role, and with the stature of our growing university, we changed our department name to University Health and Counseling Services. All the departments and programs in Wellness Services have grown dramatically in the past five years, and through the creation of a student wellness fee, we've been able to gradually convert the funding for Health Services from state funding to fully student wellness fee funding. This has freed up money for programming elsewhere in the University while allowing Health Services to continue developing as demand for services increases.

Q. Tell us about the Drop-In Center.
A. Susan Skalsky recognized the need for a new model of student involvement on campus, so this year she moved the Drop-In Center under the Wellness Education program, and we are now training student volunteers to be peer educators and peer counselors. Susan also made the facility a site for the entire campus community to use, so the operation in the Drop-In Center is now two pronged. There's a student peer educator/counselor program that does outreach on health-related issues and provides support to students seeking information and referrals, and there's a campus community programming effort aimed at providing a non-administrative, safe, comfortable space for programming and support group activities where everyone on campus can meet and talk.

Q. What are some of the physical improvements the Drop-In Center has recently undergone?
A. The building was painted inside and out and a new floor was installed. Architecture and Engineering Services replaced the stone sidewalk in front of the building with concrete and installed a new sidewalk from the walkway in front of the Student Center to the sidewalk in front, improving access to the building. Susan purchased new furniture for the student office and the meeting room, and the building now has Internet connection. We continue to upgrade the facility to provide an even more comfortable space in an effort to continue to increase campus utilization of this historical facility.

Q. How have the people on campus responded to programs you offer?
A. The Montclair State community has welcomed the opportunity to use the Drop-In Center. Faculty, staff and students--both men and women--enjoy the opportunity to attend a program or meeting in a non-administrative, non-academic space. They feel more comfortable talking about issues in the kind of space we've created, and there are no other spaces on campus like it at the moment. We get the word out by advertising programs on e-mail, we post programs on the Web events calendar, do posters and flyers on some individual programs and promote others in The Montclarion.

Q. What are some of your more popular programs?
A. Mindfulness Meditation, which is open to anyone interested in learning about meditation and developing mindfulness in daily life, is held Mondays from 1 to 2 p.m. Space for this event is always limited, so we encourage participants to be on time. The group is led by meditation teacher and personal coach Kerry Rasp, a Montclair State alumna who has been practicing meditation for more than 10 years. Another popular program is the Conversation Café, which meets Wednesdays at noon. Everyone on campus is welcome to participate in these open, informal, discussions where all viewpoints are honored, confidentiality is maintained and community is created. Some other programs we offer include a film series, assertiveness training and programs on body acceptance and healthy relationships. Our most popular one-time program this semester was the contraception timeline workshop.

Q. How do you determine the types of programming to offer the campus community?
A. It's a shared responsibility between the Wellness Education staff and Susan Skalsky. It also depends on who offers programming. Susan recently started the Conversation Café with Lisa Sargese, (a visiting specialist in Philosophy and Religion). Susan mentioned at a meeting that she wanted to start such a group and Sargese volunteered to take the lead as facilitator. We've also offered to do programs in the Drop-In Center for small groups from various clubs and organizations on campus.