How HAPHE Began and Spread
- Lisa Gregory
- Sep 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 11
It started with coffee at the University of Bath. A few of us gathered each week, no agenda, no official club, just students talking.
Conversations roamed from boyfriends and girlfriends to coursework, money, family, groups of friends, careers, and dreams. Some of us felt the weight of pressure, others didn’t, but the space gave everyone room to connect.
A staff member in Student Services helped us by booking rooms, but the meet-ups stayed simple. Among us was Shola Morgan, also a student, who was exploring ethnographic methods through her Oxford research.
Listening as both a peer and a researcher, she noticed something striking: those who poured most of their energy into just one thing, whether a relationship, one way of studying, or a single dream were far more vulnerable when that thing faltered. Those who spread their energy across multiple friendships, varied study habits, and more than one dream were steadier when change came.
From that small circle, the idea spread. Students told friends at the University of Bristol, and soon conversations were happening at other universities too. The pattern was the same: ordinary meet-ups, real stories, and the recognition that balance and diversification protect students from trauma and anxiety.
Then COVID hit. Just as the movement was beginning to take shape, campuses closed, students scattered, and the rhythm broke. But the idea didn’t fade. Now, as new students step onto campus, they are picking it up again starting HAPHE Teams with the same spirit of coffee, conversation, and connection that began it all. This time some direction on how we might prevent some of the pitfalls that led to trauma and anxiety.
Change begins in small circles. See how HAPHE began and spread, and explore how prevention builds resilience.
 Learn to recognise triggers of student trauma, and discover how to start your own HAPHE team on campus.
 Every conversation can spark a movement — yours might be next.