UA Little Rock Staff Senate

Outtakes 1/2

Thank you for supporting the Helping Hands Food Drive!!

Some final photos of the various Helping Hands Food Drive boxes around campus! Today is the deadline for donations and applications so stop on by!

Donation box locations shown (in this order)

Dickinson Hall
Facilities Management
College of Business
Student Service Center
University Commons
Ottenheimer Library
Mailroom
Donaghey Student Center
KUAR/KLRE

Other locations of donation boxes:
Engineering and Information Technology
Bowen Law School

Outtakes coming soon 👀😁

We didn't forget today's dose of encouragement for the Helping Hands Food Drive!

Here is a more visual list of all the food items we're looking for! Two items that were left off (accidentally) were

Cream of Chicken Soup

And

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Because we should all have access to meals for the holidays :)

The Helping Hands Food Drive is underway!
We are accepting donations and applications up until December 5th!

Look at the link in our bio on how to sign up or find more information about how to sign up or donate!

Thank you to everyone who came out for our latest Staff Senate Blood Drive this Tuesday!

We're happy to be able to work with to help serve the community in Arkansas.

The key attitude to bring to mental health awareness

Dr. Sharon Downs, the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Wellness and Belonging, who regularly serves as the DJ for UA Little Rock’s Su***de Prevention Walk, talked with us briefly about the spirit she tries to bring to these events and the overall discussion of mental health awareness.

“Most people”, said Dr. Downs “think counselling is for…the chronically mentally disordered in some way…or someone with a diagnosis, but no! it’s [counselling] just somebody that you can talk to talk to”

“If we have this conversation out in the open…and it’s not doom and gloom” Dr. Downs believes the that the conversation promotes the more helpful attitudes of hope, togetherness, and joy.

Though Mental Health Awareness Month is over, as human beings we will continue to face any number and severity of stressors as the months march on– let’s continue to actively and openly discuss these matters to dispel the fear and stigma that so often surrounds them.

Health care falls all on you…

And that’s what makes it difficult to get a handle on.

But, imagine a team that works daily to ensure its clients receive comprehensive care whether that’s by ensuring they attend doctors’ appointments and get prescriptions or assisting with housing and food security.

That’s Empower Healthcare Solutions

So, we want to thank Empower and its over 400 care coordinators in Arkansas for serving Medicaid recipients that face complex behavioral issues or intellectual/developmental disabilities to advocate for their dignity and sense of purpose.
On this note of purpose, while visiting with Stella Prather, Director of Communication for Empower and she observed “Our members don’t give up.”

And if they don’t give up, let’s all work to be of better service to those around us.

“They don’t want to be crazy…or weak…they don’t want to be seen that way”

During the UA Little Rock 2025 Su***de Prevention Walk, Dr. Aresh Assadi said that this is a common feeling that often keeps people out of counseling.

Since students face the pressure of being evaluated and any number of existential questions while in college, it’s easy to see that college students must be given means to help them process these issues.

However, the fear of giving into the idea of being “broken” (on top of other issues inhibiting access) makes using those resources easier said than done.

That is the reason why since 2016 Dr. Assadi has taken a direct role in providing the brains and muscle behind UA Little Rock’s Su***de Prevention Walk at UA Little Rock’s.
His hope is to help normalize seeking out help with counseling services, especially for matters as taboo as self-harm; and it seems as if these efforts have been working

“After every walk, students come up to me 'I felt like this event was just for me'" Assadi stated, continuing on to mention “We [Counselling Services] just hit 4000 sessions…pre-COVID we were at 2700 sessions…and I think it’s because of our outreach”

Mark your calendars for our next Blood Drive!
Thank you for partnering with us!