Hub for Student Well-Being Opens in Tawanka

Eastern Washington University’s Counseling and Wellness Services has opened a new student well-being hub on the main floor of Tawanka Hall, 121-129.

The Counseling and Wellness Services team are holding an open house, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5. Visitors will be able to tour the space, enjoy free snacks and learn about available student resources.

With its welcoming chairs and couches in the hallway and student-focused areas within, the student center, which has been designed to serve as a hub for basic needs assistance, financial counseling, health promotion and other services. It will also provide students with a place to decompress when life gets stressful.

The comfy digs in the hallway have already attracted Eagles who are looking to visit with others or enjoy a relatively calm space to study.

“We’ve seen a lot of students hanging out there together and studying. There are tables and couch areas, and it’s great to see people using it,” says Tricia Hughes, senior director, Counseling and Wellness.

The Tawanka wellness hub features a sensory room equipped with a machine that makes soothing sounds, paired with soft lighting and weighted stuffed animals. An adjacent interfaith prayer room is also available.

The entire wellness team contributed ideas for the layout and interior design, Hughes says, with additional decor and wall details planned in the coming weeks.

“We worked really hard to try and make it not feel institutional. It really was a team effort,” says Hughes. “I feel like we have a great start considering we’ve only been in here a little more than a month.”

The new wellness hub suite consolidates services previously scattered across campus, including those based in the University Recreation Center and the Eagles for Recovery Lounge in Showalter Hall.

Now called the Thrive Lounge, the recovery space is integrated into the Tawanka Counseling and Wellness center.

Adding to increased accessibility, the suite is across the building from the food pantry that Basic Needs Navigator Emily Migliazzo oversees, which helps more than 500 students per week.

Counseling services will continue to be offered in Martin Hall, 225, Hughes says.

Through the Navigate Student app, students can book 15-minute individual appointments at the Thrive Lounge with Hoonah, the campus therapy dog, or schedule financial counseling sessions with Tom Klaameyer and the EWU Peer-to-Peer Financial Counseling team.

Student Accommodations and Support Services offers the student intake form or the i-Care form to get some help with basic needs, including food and housing assistance.

Hughes says a Thrive webpage is currently under development. Once live, it will offer a one-stop place for wellness resources and services that support students academically.

The department is also hiring a health education coordinator to expand wellness-focused offerings. “I think come January, students will see a lot more programming and events in the Thrive Lounge,” Hughes says.