ANDY JACKSON/Stuff
WITT student Sacha Mills decided to study social work after struggling with her own mental health issues and finding there wasn't enough resources to get help.
Taranaki mental health student Sacha Mills wants to be the change in her community.
And she's far from alone. Student numbers in the social work certificate Mills is completing at Taranaki’s Witt polytech have doubled this year to 105.
It is one of a number of qualifications at the institute recording record numbers.
The popularity of the social work course is being attributed to a surge in interest in mental health following Covid-19 restrictions, that it’s fee free and also that a lack of entry requirements makes it accessible to many.