Well Ride program returns to UNC, offers transport to mental health services

The Well Ride program is returning to UNC, offering free Lyft rides to help students living on campus access mental health services located off campus. 

A study done in a public health epidemiology class in fall 2019 found that 57% of students experienced a transportation barrier when accessing mental health services, Counseling and Psychological Services referral coordinator and clinical social worker Janie Miller said in an email statement. The same study found that transportation was the second-highest logistical barrier behind scheduling conflicts, she added.

While around 70% of UNC students seeking services are seen within Counseling and Psychological Services, others use the program’s referral system to access mental health services off campus, CAPS interim director Avery Cook said in an email statement.

The Well Ride program helps to connect students to more than 600 off-campus mental health providers, many of which are within driving distance of the University. 

“There are some students who are better served with a connection to open ended therapy with a community provider,” Cook said.

When the program was originally piloted by  Student Government in 2020, there were 40 rides requested from January to March. However, the initiative was interrupted by the onset of COVID-19.

CAPS is now re-introducing the initiative thanks to new funding received from the UNC System Office, in addition to the original $25,000 grant they received from the UNC Parents Council to start Well Ride. 

Cook did not provide further information on the new grant source.

“In the original grant, they estimated being able to support between 80 and 100 students with that funding,” Millersaid. 

The program will benefit students who may be unable to access resources due to cost or lack of transportation, Miller said. She specifically said they predict that Well Ride could help international students, students of color and low-income students who may face barriers to mental health service attainability. 

CAPS is working to spread awareness about Well Ride through campus partners such as Gender Violence Service Coordinators, UNC Campus Health Services and Student Wellness and is publicizing the program within CAPS itself.

CAPS sent an email with information about Well Ride, along with a flier detailing eligibility requirements, to students who received referral coordination services in the last six months.

To qualify for the program, applicants must live on campus, be 18 years of age or older, and lack access to a car. 

Junior Prithvi Adiga said that she was looking for outside therapy because she wanted more specialized services than what the University offered. 

“My first thought when I got to CAPS was to use that service to coordinate myself with a psychiatrist, to confer with medical options,” Adiga said. 

She also said she thinks that all students should have equal access to psychological services. While she said she believes that the Well Ride program is a step in the right direction, she added that only serving students who live on campus is reductive.

“Not every student lives on campus, and if we are entitled to services from CAPS as students, I think that should include all the services,” she said.

Elizabeth McIntyre, a CAPS referral coordinator and clinical social worker, said the qualifications were determined based on Student Government’s research of who would most benefit from the program, such as first-years. 

“[First-years] are trying to figure out where their classes are and trying to think about all the places off campus, and which bus, and where to get off, and it’s a lot,” McIntyre said. “I'm really grateful to have the program and funding so that students don't have to navigate that.”

Miller said she is excited about Well Ride as a resource to make mental health services more accessible. She hopes students will utilize the program so that CAPS can hopefully expand it to the broader student body, she said.

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