At Lakeland University and colleges across the country, mental health concerns are at the forefront of students’ minds. Emotional support animals (ESA) have become more popular for students dealing with mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression and more. Although the application process for an ESA might seem daunting, The Mirror has demystified the process below. 

 To apply for an ESA, students must have a healthcare provider vouch for them before starting the process of getting an ESA on campus. An ESA is part of a therapeutic treatment plan and overall awareness of the need for mental health support. It must be an animal that you have had for a long time and not just an animal that you picked up from a shelter. These animals must be trained for specific cues that they can detect before the attack happens and to be able to calm students down from an anxiety attack. It helps with depression, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, and those with a disability that are not shown on the outside. ESA are for increased awareness of the need for mental health support. The most popular tend to be dogs and cats but there are more options campus are dogs and cat.  

The Fair Housing Act must be followed to be considered to have an ESA on campus. The housing provision allows the student to function. It requires that colleges and universities do not discriminate against otherwise qualified applicants and students with documented disabilities. Lakeland University recognizes the importance of providing reasonable accommodations in its housing policies and practices where necessary for individuals with disabilities to fully participate in the housing program. The dogs must be licensed and have proof of vaccination, and the cats do not have to be licensed but they do have to be vaccinated. If the dog or cat is not vaccinated Lakeland University offers to help but there is a fee of $8. After it is done the license must be submitted to Lakeland before even applying for an ESA. 

To begin the process of getting an ESA on campus one must fill out a disability accommodation request form for an emotional support animal, verification of disability form for emotional support animals, Lakeland University policy and agreement for emotional support animals, and a roommate agreement form. After filling all those out, they must be sent to Karen Eckhardt, who runs the Hayssen Academic Resource Center, waiting for approval, and it should take four to six weeks for the process to finalize. Students can find all necessary forms on Lakeland Today or email Karen Eckhardt for more information. 

https://lakeland.edu/student-experience/academic-services/disability-services [email protected]