Longhorn Share Project Offers New Mental Health Resource For UT Students
By Emily Trevino
Reporting Texas
Khang Lee, students and Share group leaders Allison Sengokhounman and Ilwaad Mohamed making bracelets at the Black Sheep Cohort on Thursday, October 2, 2025. Emily Trevino/Reporting Texas
For many students at The University of Texas, seeking mental health resources can seem daunting. Long wait times to get an appointment and the stress of talking to a stranger often push students away. The Longhorn SHARE Project is trying to help alleviate some of that stress.
Students with “SHARE” meet at the UT Tower every Thursday night. Snacks, water, and activities are provided but the main purpose is to help students.
“Something like this is a bit more comfortable because it’s led by other students,” said Khang Lee, a senior linguistics major. SHARE has become a safe space for him to talk and relax with other students going through the same things. “It’s not as rigid,” he added.
For students like Lee, the experience has been life-changing.
“It’s given me a place to talk,” he said. Lee says he was looking for somewhere he could talk with others about his feelings of loneliness. He found that support through SHARE. Next week, the group plans to attend a soccer game.
SHARE stands for support, healing, active listening, reciprocity and empowerment. Each week different groups meet throughout campus to focus on various topics and to take a break from school and stress. “I know that I’m coming here and the other people around me have kind of similar issues as well,” said Lee. ”We just talk about how we’re feeling and what our thoughts are.”
The hour-long event allows students a simple and relaxing experience. Students come in, chat and grab a snack. There is usually an icebreaker to help ease students into difficult conversations. Co-faciliators kick off the session by talking about something on their minds.
After a survey published by UT revealed more than half of students felt loneliness after the Covid- 19 pandemic, SHARE was created as a means to help students combat feelings of depression from a non clinical standpoint. SHARE also offers different community circles focusing on mental health struggles.
With attendance spiking each week, organizers say the program is giving students exactly what they need.
“There are spaces that we offer that are related to a clinical diagnosis, but there are also other spaces that are provided that are just life and shared experiences,” said Adrian Lancaster, SHARE’s project specialist. He says the goal for SHARE is community support from students.
These types of communities help students feel less intimidated to talk about their struggles. Communities dedicated to helping students with grief, first generation struggles, break ups, anxiety and eight other cohorts offer students a new resource to seek help from.
“I really hope students are able to open up and feel better about themselves in their growth and self confidence,” said Allison Sengokhounman, a junior at UT. She is a SHARE leader who participated in a grief circle after the death of her grandma.“It’s important for me to be able to connect with these students because I was once in their situation and I can offer that support for them,” she said.
To get involved with SHARE, students can show up, but are encouraged to fill out a form beforehand in order to match them with the best community. SHARE leadership applications open in October and require a minimum commitment of three semesters, including training in the spring.