USU opens Student Families Support Center

2009-12-07

On December 5, a new center intended to provide financial and psychological assistance to student families opened on the main USU campus at the initiative of the student union and the department of youth policy and social work.

As of November 1, 2009, the number of families where one or both spouses were students stood at 113, about half of them with one child, six couples with two kids and one couple with three children. According to a recent poll of married students, the toughest problems faced by young families are concerned with housing and placing children in day care centers.

One of the speakers at the opening ceremony, chair of the student union Petr Ofitserov, pointed out that support for student families is one of the organization’s priorities. Five children that started school last September were provided with a school uniform and school supplies for the current academic year. About 60 kids that have one or both parents studying at USU received New Year gifts.

In addition to financial aid, students will be able to take advantage of family counseling services, which will be offered by a study and research lab at the faculty of medicine and include individual and group training sessions.