From the JCR Welfare Officers
Hello everyone! We are Cara and Sarah, your JCR Welfare Officers. Our job is to provide students with support and signposting to support their welfare, as well as running fun events such as craft nights to help you all relax. We also provide free and confidential sexual health and period supplies – these can be accessed from the JCR pidgeonhole (on the bottom right when you first enter the pidge room) or through our Google forms, where supplies can be requested anonymously.
We can be contacted at jcr.welfare@newn.cam.ac.uk and are both more than happy to be contacted directly via email, social media or in person if you ever have any problems or questions! No problem is too small – we really encourage you to get in contact if you need some support!
Period supplies can be accessed here.
Sexual health supplies can be accessed here.
Aside from the JCR welfare officers, other welfare points of contact in college include:
- Julie Barker – College Nurse – Our college nurse is available to provide support for both physical and mental health concerns. Appointments are available at various times from Monday to Friday and can be booked on the Nurse and Wellbeing Advisor Moodle page. Julie can also be contacted at nurse@newn.cam.ac.uk if you wish to her ask any questions.
- Sineidin O’Reilly-Williams – College Wellbeing Advisor – Our college wellbeing advisor is available to provide support and signposting for anyone struggling with their mental health or wellbeing. Appointments are available from 9:00-17:00 on all weekdays except Thursday and can be booked on the Nurse and Wellbeing Advisor Moodle page.
- Kay Neish and Isha Mehta – College Counsellors – Our college counsellors are available for both in person and Zoom appointments. Appointments with Kay can be booked on Tuesdays from 10:00-16:00 and appointments with Isha can be booked on Fridays from 10:00-16:00. Appointments can be booked via the Health and Wellbeing page. Isha identifies as BAME, so students who would prefer to be supported by someone from a similar background can choose to book an appointment with her.
- Rev’d Dr Arabella Milbank – Our Chaplain – Newnham was founded as a non-denominational college (‘for all faiths and none’), therefore we do not have our own chaplain, but we ‘borrow’ Arabella from across the road at Selwyn College. She is available from 2-4pm on Friday afternoons in the Kennedy Building (room G02) to support students of any faith or none. She can be contacted at chaplain@sel.cam.ac.uk.
- Professor Manali Desai – Our BAME advisor – if students have experienced racial harassment or wish to raise any issues they have encountered about race and BAME identity in College, Manali can be contacted to provide confidential advice and support. She can be contacted at md644@cam.ac.uk.
- Your Tutor – Assigned by College – Every student at Newnham has a tutor, a senior member of the college who you can go to with any welfare concerns. Your tutor is also your first port of call for any financial worries, including applying for bursaries or funds provided by college. You will meet with your tutor for the first time in Freshers’ Week and should meet with them at the start and end of every term during your time here.
- The Porters – Available 24/7 – the Porters are available at all times, so if situations arise outside of working hours, they will be available to provide advice and support. All of our Porters are first aid trained and can help in emergency situations, such as through booking a taxi to take you to Urgent Care or A&E if needed.
Other avenues for support include:
- The University Counselling Service – the University Counselling Service (UCS) supports students who are experiencing personal, relational or academic concerns. To book an appointment, students should first fill out an online referral form. The UCS aims to provide an appointment within 10 working days, however the average wait time in Easter Term 2023 was just 3 days. Help and support with how to access the UCS can be obtained through the JCR Welfare Officers or through the Welfare Advisor, Sineidin.
- NHS 111 – the NHS 111 phone service (or the accompanying online service) can be used to provide medical and mental health advice, including outside of GP working hours. To access mental health support over the phone, dial 111 and select option 2
Newnham College JCR 