guard.me International Insurance (“guard.me“) has augmented its keep.meSAFE Student Support Program, specializing in mental health support, in response to an increased demand for service.

keep.meSAFE supports 95 secondary and post-secondary institutions across Canada, helping over 300,000 students nationwide. From March 2020, there has been a 61 percent increase in clinical cases completed through keep.meSAFE, amounting to over 17,500 cases. To meet this spike in demand, it has grown its clinical network by over 300 new counsellors since November 2020.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen a huge increase in the number of students reaching out to us for support,” said Jesse Poulin, Program Manager of keep.meSAFE. “Students are stressed, anxious and uncertain about the future. Not being able to be on campus, and having to study remotely from home through rolling lockdowns, has had a major impact on students’ mental health. That’s why it is important that we continue to adapt to the changing needs and increased demands for remote mental health support.”

The dramatic impact of COVID-19 on mental health, and access to mental health resources, has seen many organizations struggling to keep pace with such a major upsurge in demand for their services. keep.meSAFE has responded by expanding its level of service available to students during this extraordinary time.

“Some of the key changes we have made,” explained Poulin, “include adding an on-demand fitness service, expanding our clinical network of counsellors, increasing our self-direct resource catalogue, and providing schools with more digital forms of communication to increase awareness around the supports available to students.”

keep.meSAFE continues to provide unlimited real-time support for students via telephone and chat, as well as appointment-based support with no cap on the number of sessions they can access. Its global network of more than 10,000 counsellors in 170 countries enables keep.meSAFE to support student mental health around the clock in every time zone across the world.

keep.meSAFE’s innovative Student Support Program (SSP) helps students by promoting early intervention and 24/7 access to mental health support. We help students manage their mental health so they can fully participate in academic life and complete their studies. keep.meSAFE is the first support program to use linguistically and culturally matched licensed clinicians, providing your students a welcoming place where they are comfortable to seek help. 

guard.me is among the world’s largest insurance providers in international education, servicing more than 200,000 international students in Canada alone. With over 20 years of experience, guard.me recognises that behind every claim is a real person in a time of crisis, and takes pride in providing a personalised experience respectful of the needs and sensitivities of every client. guard.me was proudly founded with a mandate to deliver innovation when it matters, and compassion where it counts.