Residence Connection

Bringing parents & supporters of students living in Queen's Residence along for the journey.

Helping Your Student Make New Connections

Staff across Student Affairs are here to support and connect your student to campus services and resources that help them build community, promote their wellbeing, and develop their academic and career planning skills, so they are well-prepared to thrive this year and beyond!

If your student is feeling lonely, here are some tips and resources you can share with them.

• Recommend they get out their room regularly, particularly if they're in a single room, and explore different locations for studying and socializing.
• Our Residence Event Calendar is an excellent resource for details about events in Residence and beyond where they can connect with peers.
• Navigating First Year Frenzy is a weekly group led by our Residence Mental Health Therapists where students will meet their peers and pick up strategies for navigating campus life. Snacks, laughs, and practical tips included.
• Yellow House Student Centre for Equity and Inclusion is a comfortable and accountable space where students who identify as Black and/or Indigenous, and/or People of Colour (BIPoC), and/or Two-Spirit and/or Lesbian, and/or Gay, and/or Bisexual, and/or Transgender, and/or Queer, and/or Questioning and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQ+) to feel safer, to create community, to be empowered, to celebrate their identity and to flourish.
• At Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, Indigenous students can find study spaces, laundry, a cozy living room, cultural activities, advising, as well as social, academic and well-being programming.
• Queen's University International Centre (QUIC) has a lounge and study spaces. Students are invited to hang out, play board games, study, meet peers, access advising services, or join information sessions, workshops, and events.
• Faith and Spiritual Life provides multi-faith, non-judgmental support for spiritual, religious, and existential questions and conversations. Students can book appointments with the interfaith chaplains or explore events to connect and socialize with peers, including Plants and Snacks.
• The Student Experience Office runs programs, drop-in sessions and the QSuccess First-Year Mentorship Program.
• The Allyship & Belonging Student Calendar is a central hub for finding and promoting events and initiatives across campus specifically for equity-deserving students and students wanting to become better allies.
• Every faculty has an active student society that runs events and conferences.
• Encourage your student to get involved in activities and topics that interest them. There are hundreds of student-run clubs!
• Athletics & Recreation offers drop-in recreation programming, intramural sports, and Group Fitness programs.
• Another way to make connections is to try out a part-time job with a university department, an AMS student-run service, or in the wider Kingston community. There are many jobs, as well as volunteer opportunities, posted to My Career.

Food Allergy or Dietary Need?

Connect with our Registered Dietitian

Our Registered Dietitian helps students learn how to optimize their Residence Meal Plan, reduce risk, make informed choices, and navigate dining safely in this new setting. Students can email dietitian@queensu.ca and/or book a meeting to discuss available supports.

Ask Before You Eat

Our chefs, managers, and supervisors are here to help students make informed dining choices. Before placing orders or selecting food in the dining halls, we encourage students to speak with a supervisor, manager, or chef so we can guide them through safe options and answer any questions.

Staying Connected with Your Student

You know your student best. Staying connected with your student looks like maintaining open lines of communication and being open and honest with each other about your expectations for how frequently you connect.

Can’t get in touch with your student?

1. Be patient and give your student time to respond.

2. Consider the following:

• Is not being able to reach your student out of character for them?
• Do they often take a while to respond?
• What time of day is it? Is there a chance that they are still sleeping?
• Is there an underlying issue that makes your concern more urgent?

3. Use another avenue to reach out whether that’s through social media, waiting to connect with them later in the day, reaching out to a friend of your student, etc.

4. Reach out to us if you’re concerned. If it's not urgent, consider other avenues of connecting with your student, or reaching out to us via email about your concern (reslife@queensu.ca).

5. If you contact us with concerns, we will treat the request as a wellness check related to personal safety and a campus security and emergency services staff member in uniform and a Residence Life staff member will visit your student's room to check on your student.

By taking steps to reach out to your student before you contact Residence Life and Services, you help us ensure our staff can respond to concerns in a timely manner. You know your student best; please reach out if you are concerned.

Residence Contact Information

Residence Life and Services (M–F, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm)

Phone: 613-533-6790

Email: reslife@queensu.ca

Residence Front Desks (24/7)

Phone: 613-533-2531

Website: Front Desk and Keys

For urgent or emergency calls only: Campus Security and Emergency Services (613-533-6111, or 613-533-6080 for non-emergencies)

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, we recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In support of this important time of reflection and learning, the university will be offering activities and opportunities for your student to learn, engage, and act toward advancing reconciliation both on and off campus. No classes will be held on September 30.

An important aspect of Truth and Reconciliation work is committing to awareness and self-education of the complex histories and ongoing issues facing Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island (North America). With this, we will be encouraging your student to wear an orange shirt and direct them to educational resources.

Event Highlight: Sacred Fire

September 30, 1 pm at Agnes Benidickson Field

Open to the entire Queen's University community.

Health and Wellness Supports

At Queen's, we offer many resources to support students' health and wellness. Your student can:

• Book an appointment with Student Wellness Services (SWS) for medical care, mental health services, accessibility support, and/or wellness coaching.
• Get any vaccines they need, including Meningitis B, which is strongly recommended by KFL&A Public Health, and not part of the provincial routine vaccine series.
• Transfer their prescriptions to a local pharmacy.
• Access 24/7 crisis resources, including Empower Me.
• Join a therapy group, such as Navigating First Year Frenzy.
• Visit the Campus Observation Room (COR), an on-site, overnight, non-medical detox service for students who have had too much to drink.

Our Residence Mental Health Therapists, Nadia and Terra, are here to help your student navigate their experiences in Residence and at Queen's. As registered psychotherapists, they offer one-on-one professional mental health support.

Your student can schedule an appointment through the TELUS app.

Navigating First Year Frenzy

Your student is invited to join Navigating First-Year Frenzy, a supportive space led by our Residence Mental Health Therapists, designed to help first-year students thrive! Nadia and Terra will guide students through reducing stress, adjusting to academic demands, navigating campus, and mastering the art of adulting.

Thursdays, October 1 to November 26 (excluding October 15) 

2:30–4 pm

Your student can register here.

Looking to Send Mail to Your Student?

Packages must be received and processed in our Mail Depot before being released to your student. Please use the format and central addresses below.

For all students who live on MAIN campus:

Name, Student Number

Watts Hall

23 Lower Albert Street

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario

K7L 3V1

For all students who live on WEST campus:

Name, Student Number

Jean Royce Hall

535 Union Street

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario

K7M 2B9

Please note: Processing times vary. We suggest that you do not send time-sensitive packages, such as medications, through the mail. If your student requires medication, have the prescription sent to a local pharmacy.

Learn more about the Mail Depot

Campus Gifts Makes Sending Care Packages Easy

Stay connected with your student throughout the year by sending them a simple “thinking of you” care package or celebrate their birthday with a cake! Campus Gifts makes it easy. Care packages can be scheduled up to 3 months in advance. Our online platform offers a selection of gift boxes and care packages that students can pick up right on campus – with no shipping costs!

Your Student's Meal Plan

We want your student to get the most out of their meal plan this year!

Our three All-You-Care-To-Eat dining halls are the foundation of the Residence Weekly 19 Meal Plan, where we offer a diverse variety of food and provide healthy, balanced meals on our 5-week menu cycle. Meal swipes can be used up to three times per day, for a maximum of 19 meals per week over the academic year. Weekly meals reset to 19 every Monday at 12:01 a.m.

The “trade a meal” (TAM) option gives students the flexibility to choose a fixed combo at select on-campus retail food locations. As a convenient alternative to the Weekly Meal Plan, redeemed TAMs are deducted from your student's weekly 19 dining hall meal allowance and can be used up to twice a day, for a maximum of 175 times over the academic year. TAMs are optional and may be subject to change at any time.

Learn More

Safety in Residence & in the Kingston Community

At Queen's, we are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment where every student feels respected and valued in Residence, across campus, and in the broader community. We promote safe behaviours and responsible citizenship throughout the year.

To prioritize personal safety, your student can:

• Download the SeQure App for quick access to campus safety and security information. SeQure features campus and local emergency response contacts, crisis alerts, Walk Home contact, Blue Light locations, support services, and much more.
• Access secure bike storage on campus and register their bike to minimize risk in case of bike theft.

Together Against Hate



Hate, harassment, and discrimination have no place on our campus. We all play a role in challenging hate and promoting safety and respect for all members of our community.

Your student can access resources to help confront, cope with, and report acts of hate, harassment, and discrimination.