The AMS released the 2024/25 interim student services report, which shows increased usage in nearly all services.
AMS Services saw a total of 22,771 user interactions between May and December 2023. The AMS Food Bank, the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) and Safewalk were among the services with the highest usage.
In an interview with The Ubyssey, AMS Student Services Manager Kathleen Simpson said the AMS is still prepared to deal with increasing demand and is happy students are taking advantage of the services.
“Our goal is always to … help as many students as we possibly can,” said Simpson.
The most used service continues to be the AMS Food Bank, which accounts for 70 per cent of all service interactions and saw a 14 per cent increase in interactions from the same period during the 2023/24 school year. This period coincides with April 2023 backlash involving the AMS's decision to make UBC staff ineligible to access the food bank. The decision was made due to budget constraints and supply concerns that students would be less supported despite being active AMS members, unlike UBC staff members who are associate members.
Despite the current uptick in interactions, Simpson said costs are on track to stay within the budget, as only $60,768 has been spent of the food bank's $116,408 budget for the year.
SASC is the next most used service with 10 per cent of total interactions. SASC also reported one of the most notable increases with 1,031 hours in session marking an 84 per cent increase. The service also saw a 21 per cent increase in intakes and a 324 per cent increase in anonymous interactions.
When asked about unexpected findings in the report, Simpson said while nothing was particularly surprising, Safewalk's growth in service was an achievement.
“In the last couple years, this was a big priority for us, so we're really happy to see that come together,” said Simpson.
Safewalk experienced a 53 per cent increase in interactions between May to December 2024 as compared to the same period the year prior. The report said the service was especially busy during Halloween and problems arose with client behaviour, which resulted in an updated policy being published and new training for all staff on how to maintain safety during a shift. While October was the service's busiest month, heavy use continued in November and December.
On goals going forward, Simpson said she hopes to focus more on “data collection and using metrics to inform the trends of cases and issues that we’re seeing is a big thing we're going to continue to focus on for the next little bit.”
Simpson said she views the increased numbers as a reflection of the trust students feel toward the AMS Services.
“We are always focused on awareness and making sure that students know … when they're facing some kind of challenge in their time at university, that they can come to us for support.”
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