Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program Descriptions

Choose a Grantee Arizona State UniversityUniversity of California - BerkeleyUniversity of California - IrvineCalifornia State University - FullertonCalifornia State University - Long BeachTrinidad State Junior CollegeRegis UniversityConnecticut CollegeFlorida Gulf Coast UniversityEdward Waters CollegeDaytona State CollegeNova Southeastern University University of West Georgia Emory University University of Hawaii Trinity Christian CollegeColumbia College ChicagoNortheastern Illinois UniversityPurdue UniversityKansas State UniversityUniversity of Kentucky - LexingtonUniversity of Louisiana - Monroe University of MaineUniversity of MarylandTowson University Massachusetts Maritime AcademyTufts UniversityBoston University University of Massachusetts - Amherst Worcester Polytechnic Institute Western Michigan UniversityMichigan State UniversityMississippi State University - MeridianUniversity of Southern MississippiLinn State Technical CollegeNorthwest Missouri State UniversityUniversity of Nebraska - KearneyKeene State CollegeSaint Peter's CollegeNew Mexico Highlands UniversityStony Brook UniversitySyracuse UniversityUniversity at AlbanyPace UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteSUNY - BuffaloCity College of New YorkUniversity of North Carolina - Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina - GreensboroUniversity of North DakotaOhio State UniversityOklahoma State University - OkmulgeeUniversity of OregonBlue Mountain Community CollegeBloomsburg UniversityPennsylvania State University - AltoonaUniversity of South CarolinaSouth Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyVanderbilt UniversityEast Tennessee State University University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleUniversity of Memphis Texas CollegeUniversity of Texas - Pan AmericanUniversity of North TexasUniversity of UtahUtah Valley UniversityLawrence UniversityCollege of Menominee Nation Marquette UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin - OshkoshUniversity of Wyoming George Washington UniversityHoward UniversityUniversidad del TuraboUniversity of Puerto Rico - CayeyUniversity of Guam or Browse the Grantees below

This page is printer friendly.

Arizona State University (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
Arizona State University (ASU) is one of the nation's largest and fastest growing institutions of higher education, enrolling more than 67,000 students across four campuses in the Phoenix area. ASU’s "Campus Care Suicide Prevention" program is designed to address suicide prevention through the lens of primary and secondary prevention. The program targets gatekeepers, students, and parents to reduce risk for suicide and promote protective factors.

The current project is an expansion of ASU Tempe campus' current successful suicide prevention program that targeted Residential/First Year students. This grant will bring the program to all four ASU campuses. In addition, this project will extend the program to target racial/ethnic minority students, students with disabilities, international students, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Questioning (LGBTIQ) students on all four ASU campuses.

Education is provided to gatekeepers, students and parents and designed to enhance knowledge, skills and abilities to identify and refer high-risk students; identify and respond to early warning signs and risk behaviors; promote protective factors; increase students' awareness of personal risk and protective behaviors; increase the utilization of resources for counseling and wellness within the target populations; reduce stigma of mental and behavioral health conditions; engage students, faculty, staff, parents and other key individuals and constituencies in leadership roles to facilitate suicide prevention within the target populations; and promote a wellness program on all campuses, specifically targeting the high-risk populations.

Contact Information:
Karen Moses, MS, RD, CHES
Director, Wellness and Health Promotion
Arizona State University
P.O. Box 872104
Tempe, AZ 85287
Tel: 480-965-1360
Email: karen.moses@asu.edu

University of California - Berkeley (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
The initiative at the University of California, Berkeley is called the Asian-Pacific Islander Early Intervention Program (Cal-APEIP). The program supports a comprehensive and coordinated approach to prevent suicide and attempted suicide, focusing on the issues of Asian-Pacific Islander (API) students; their parents/families; and key faculty, staff, and student leaders.

Almost 35% of Berkeley students are API, representing multiple cultures, languages, socioeconomics, and immigrant generations. This presents a challenge in addressing health and mental health needs. Research shows API students may be at particular risk for mental health concerns and suicide, and may be less likely to utilize mental health services. At Berkeley, API students make up only 20% of visits to mental health services. This tendency to underutilize or delay services may lead to distress being more acute upon entry into the system. Despite the diversity among API students, there are shared cultural elements to consider when addressing mental health needs. These may provide protective factors, but also may contribute to higher risk (e.g., emphasis on academic success; importance of family and community; the large percentage of API students being immigrants or from recent-immigrant families).

We plan to:

• Increase the knowledge of API students and their families about mental health and suicide, addressing stigma, and normalizing help-seeking.
• Increase the capacity of faculty, staff, and student leaders to identify, respond to, assist, and refer API students at risk.
• Strengthen the campus safety network for API students with mental health needs and at risk for suicide, and increasing the campus community's knowledge of this network.

Contact Information:
Rick Low, Ph.D.
Project Director- Cal-STEPS & Cal-APEIP
Counseling Psychologist
University of California, Berkeley
Counseling & Psychological Services
University Health Services-Tang Center
Berkeley, CA 94720-4300
Tel: 510-642-9494
Email: nlow@uhs.berkeley.edu

University of California - Irvine (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The University of California Irvine proposes the establishment of Project COURAGE (Campus Opportunities Uniting Resources Around Giving Encouragement). The overall goal of Project COURAGE is to prevent suicide by promoting a campus norm that honors achievement and competition while encouraging and allowing students to seek support when it is needed. The project will initially target first-year students with increased education, screening, and support services. Consistent with the framework suggested by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the activities of Project COURAGE will strengthen and fill gaps in existing services to "expand the safety net" for students vulnerable to suicidal ideations. Activities will include the formation of Project COURAGE teams consisting of faculty, staff, and students who will be trained by clinical providers to assist in identification and referral of students at risk for suicide. Project staff will work with Better World Advertising to formulate and produce a social marketing campaign to support project goals. Clinical staff will also work to increase screenings for depression, substance abuse, and other mental disorders that put students at higher risk for suicide. Project materials will be distributed to parents through a quarterly Parents' Newsletter and Parents' Weekend programs. Staff will also attend trainings on Stress Management Prevention at the Harvard Mind/Body Medical Institute, in order to integrate their research on stress into the Project COURAGE work. Evaluation strategies include an annual online student survey designed to measure two outcomes: 1) First year students will report decreases in measures of poor mental health/depression (PMHD) and 2) First year students will report increased awareness and regard for campus mental health services.

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

California State University - Fullerton (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among college students. While attending college is a protective factor against suicide compared to non-school attending 18-24 year old category, transitioning to a college campus can be an overwhelming experience. California State University, Fullerton is the largest state university among the twenty three California State University campuses, with a rich and diverse student demographic. With 4% of CSUF students participating in the International Education Program, and most CSUF students working at least 10 hours per week, CSUF students are under tremendous amounts of stress. The Campus Suicide Prevention Project at CSUF will focus on establishing a Crisis Response Team and protocol to better assist the campus community to respond to a suicide or suicide attempt. Other goals of the project include enhanced faculty, staff and student training to better recognize signs of at risk students in order to refer for mental health treatment. The project will focus on reducing the stigma to receiving treatment for mental health conditions. This will be accomplished by conducting a social marketing campaign, targeting multicultural and ethnic populations, as these student groups are less likely to seek treatment for mental health conditions. This project will implement a tracking system to better quantify mental health issues of CSUF students so as to prioritize services and programming to address this public health concern.

Contact Information:
Mary Hermann
California State University, Fullerton
800 North State College Blvd
Fullerton, CA 92834
Email: mhermann@fullerton.edu

California State University - Long Beach (2008–2011)

Program Description:
California State University, Long Beach has established Project OCEAN (On Campus Emergency Assistance Network). The overall goal of Project OCEAN is to prevent suicide by promoting a campus climate that honors the lives of all students while encouraging and allowing them to seek support when needed. The project targets "high-risk" students (e.g. students with disabilities, first generation students, low-income students, and graduate students from the Schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering) and provides them with increased education, screening, and support services.

Project OCEAN promotes access to existing campus mental health services by training a cadre of faculty, staff, and students in appropriate referral strategies using the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) program. Project staff members also work with student focus groups to formulate and produce a social marketing campaign. Additionally, clinical staff members work to increase screenings for depression, substance abuse, and other mental disorders that put students at higher risk for suicide. Project materials are distributed to parents through parent orientation programs and the University Parents' Council. Evaluation strategies include a student survey designed to measure two outcomes: 1) Targeted students will report decreases in measures of poor mental health/depression; and 2) Students will report increased awareness and regard for campus mental health services.

Contact Information:
David Sanfilippo
California State University-Long Beach
Disabled Student Services
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90840
Tel: 562-985-7876
Email: dsanfili@csulb.edu

Trinidad State Junior College (2008–2011)

Program Description:
Trinidad State Junior College, established in 1925, is a comprehensive, Hispanic-serving, Colorado, two-year rural community college. Trinidad State Junior College (TSJC) Suicide Prevention Outreach and Education (SPOE) Project will address the need for suicide prevention, education and unified referral among a rural eight county region of Southern Colorado. The college student population is 38% Hispanic and 42% minority. The target population includes students aged 16 - 25, education staff and faculty and community gatekeepers including health and mental health providers. These populations encompass a broad spectrum of students and professionals in the education, health and mental health arena. It is the intent of the SPOE to develop and coordinate a multi pronged effort intended to positively impact the region.

Trinidad State Junior College and Spanish Peaks Mental Health Services in partnership with regional high schools in Huerfano, Las Animas and six San Luis Valley Counties identified the need for a suicide prevention, education and outreach program to build unified, effective and sustainable suicide prevention and mental health awareness infrastructure through campus based education and outreach.

Contact Information:
Sandra Veltri, PhD
Project Director
Trinidad State Junior College
600 Prospect St.
Campus Box 132
Trinidad, CO 81082
Tel: 719-846-5559
Email: sandy.veltri@trinidadstate.edu

Regis University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students (Haas, Hendin & Mann, 2003, Haas, 2004, Jamison, 1999), and a rapidly emerging public health concern on many campuses. Regis University, The BACCHUS Network TM, and the Carson J Spencer Foundation request a total of $73,744 (year one) to build a unified, effective and sustainable suicide prevention and mental health awareness infrastructure through the SPEAK UP (Suicide Prevention, Education, Action, Knowledge: University Partnerships) initiative. Building from the needs assessment conducted at Regis University in the spring of 2006, this initiative will address diverse target groups including young adult men, students with preexisting mental health concerns, GLBTiQ populations (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Intrasex, and Questioning), healthcare professionals/students, and faith communities. The three partners intend to develop a coordinate multi-pronged effort intended to impact the following three goals: (1) To develop a coordinated and knowledgeable suicide prevention networking infrastructure at Regis University, in Colorado, and nationally, (2) to develop social marketing campaigns to de-stigmatize mental disorders and increase help-seeking behavior, and (3) to increase the number of trained gatekeepers. Training, educational seminars, and informational materials will be piloted at Regis University and then disseminated through several comprehensive regional and national networks facilitated by The BACCHUS Network TM and the Carson J Spencer Foundation.

Contact Information:
Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas
Director
Leadership Development and Behavioral Health Promotion
Regis University
3333 Regis Blvd. F-12
Denver, CO 80221-1099
Email: sspencer@regis.edu

Connecticut College (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Suicide is a major public health problem and has become an important topic on college campuses today. The purpose of the Connecticut College Campus Suicide Prevention grant proposal is to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems by providing a comprehensive array of services within the campus community, using a public health approach, to enhance the ability to identify and assess students at risk and to raise the skill level of the various campus helpers to make appropriate referrals of students whose behavior indicates they are at risk for mental and behavioral health problems, including suicide. This will be achieved by developing training programs for students and campus personnel, by enhancing the existing campus networking infrastructure, by creating campus-wide policies and procedures to address campus crises including suicide, by providing psychosocial education in the form of seminars, by distributing materials to the college community and to families, and by creating links to community resources and suicide hotlines. Much of the focus will be on identification and referral of students with mental and behavioral health issues, including affective disorders, substance abuse disorders, and suicide. Thus, the proposed Connecticut College suicide prevention project will utilize handing to implement an education/public health approach to suicide prevention by promoting enhanced knowledge and awareness of suicide prevention throughout the campus and by enhancing and expanding existing networking infrastructure of campus support services for students.

Contact Information:
Janet D. Spoltore
Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320
Email: Janet.spoltore@conncoll.edu

Florida Gulf Coast University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Florida Gulf Coast University proposes an information and education project around suicide and two of its main contributors, alcohol abuse and depression. Our rapidly-growing suburban state university with enrollment over 7,000 is working to be proactive in preventing mental health crises and assisting students who need psychological and psychiatric services. The project we propose begins by contracting with an expert trainer to educate the front line gatekeepers: Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Housing and Residence Life. The second group will be second line gatekeepers, including Student Affairs, medical, interested faculty, police, student leaders, and other identified groups. During the course of the year, CAPS and Prevention & Wellness Services (PWS) will develop and present small education outreach style programs to living groups, classes, faculty meetings, or other groups on request. Third, we propose to develop promotional items and advertisements to increase awareness of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and campus resources for mental health services. Finally, we propose to develop two pamphlets, one for students and one for the parents of the student, educating them on warning signs, what to say, and how to refer. Although our proposal is limited in scope, we believe it will have a positive impact on our community.

Contact Information:
Judi Gibbons
Student Development Service
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd. South
Ft. Myers, FL 33965
Email: jgibbons@fgcu.edu

Edward Waters College (2009–2012)

Program Description:
Edward Waters College, a small historical black liberal arts college located in the urban core of the city of Jacksonville, Florida, will create a Campus Wide Suicide Prevention Program. Specifically, the college will develop an infrastructure within its existing Counseling Center to create a network of key gatekeepers, student leaders, and community behavioral health partners who will design and implement a strategic plan that will reduce or eliminate risk factors that predispose students to suicidal ideation and prevent suicidal attempts and other behavioral health problems. This network will be known as Project Care. Project Care’s major objectives include: a) providing QPR training to college administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders; b) facilitating educational seminars and cultural diversity workshops to students, their parents, faculty, and staff on the myths and stigma associated with suicide and depression; c) promoting help-seeking behaviors within the student body by replacing the negative attitudes of the behavioral health systems held by many African-Americans; d) distributing informational literature on suicide and depression throughout the campus and at all organized student activities including Chaplain services; e) strengthening the relationships of off-campus community behavioral health providers; and f) providing educational information to parents on campus, over the Internet, and through mail, and establishing a Campus Wide Suicide Help Line.

Contact Information:
Dr. Karen Buckman
Vice President
Student Affairs
Edward Waters College
1658 Kings Road
Jacksonville, FL 32209
Tel: 904-470-8210
Email: kbuckman@ewc.edu

Daytona State College (2005–2008 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
Daytona State College, Seminole Community College, and University of Central Florida have formed the Project SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Education and Knowledge) consortium to conduct suicide awareness and prevention activities at three commuter institutions located in east Central Florida.  The three partner institutions serve approximately 63,000 students across 10 campuses in three counties. Project SPEAK institutions will provide education and training to students, faculty, administrators, and staff. The project goal is to raise awareness through education of administrators, faculty, staff, students and their families of the colleges and universities located in Volusia, Flagler, and Seminole Counties, Florida of the signs of depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation to prevent suicide among college students. Project SPEAK will utilize in-person seminars, develop and deploy online training, provide intensive gatekeeper training, create a stronger network of local resources through an annual conference, and produce a video on suicide awareness and prevention for commuter institutions. In addition, the project will establish an annual conference for mental health professionals and community members, and host an annual student festival.

Contact Information:
Carole Luby, EdD
Dean
Student Success Services
Daytona State College
1200 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Tel: 386-506-3328
Email: lubyc@daytonastate.edu

Nova Southeastern University  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The Nova Southeastern University (NSU) EPIC (Expansion of Prevention Initiatives Off-Campus) project seeks to implement a web-based training format that will include PowerPoint™ slides, narration, and dramatic video vignettes. The project will benefit faculty and students at NSU’s Student Education Centers (SECs) throughout Florida, as well as students involved exclusively in online education efforts. The goal is to create a human safety net that extends to the entire NSU community, providing training that explains the prevalence of student suicide, details the warning signs, and demonstrates how to help suicidal students access crisis and longer-term mental-health resources. The program will reach approximately 10,000 on-campus students, 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students who attend one of the six SECs, and the 10,000 students who study online within Florida and from other states. The newly developed web-based suicide prevention programs will be made available through an online virtual learning environment utilized for mandatory faculty training and student coursework. The EPIC Project goals are to: (1) improve the identification and referral of at-risk students at the SECs across Florida; (2) increase awareness of suicide risk and protective factors and reduce the stigma associated with help-seeking behaviors among students attending classes at the these SECs; and (3) increase awareness of suicide risk and protective factors and reduce the stigma associated with help-seeking behaviors among students completing online degree programs.

Contact Information:
Douglas Flemons, PhD
Director
Counseling Center
Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314
Tel: 954-262-7050
Email: douglas@nova.edu

University of West Georgia  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The Program foR Education, InterVention Education aNd Treatment at the University of West Georgia (PREVENT@UWG) project is a comprehensive program for suicide prevention and promoting help-seeking behavior. It is based on the assumption that individuals who have recurring contact with a student have the best opportunity to observe and talk about factors that may put the student at risk for suicide, break down barriers to help seeking, encourage students to seek the help they need, and make informed referrals. Following these assumptions PREVENT@UWG proposes to target resident assistants, leaders of student organizations, faculty, and staff for training to help them identify students at risk for suicide, make effective referrals, and break down barriers to help-seeking. These cohorts will be trained to respond to risk factors such as low self-esteem, student stress, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, academic problems, relationship and family issues, financial concerns, and adjustment to college before suicidal ideation is observable. Additionally, the outreach component will deliver educational seminars, events, and a media campaign to make all students more aware of the issues surrounding suicide and break down barriers to help-seeking.

Contact Information:
Mark Parrish, PhD
Project Director, Assistant Professor
Counseling and Educational Psychology
University of West Georgia
1601 Maple
Carrollton, GA 30118
Tel: 678-839-6117
Email: mparrish@westga.edu

Emory University  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
Emory CARES, a universal and selective suicide prevention effort, will be collaboratively designed and implemented through community engagement. At-risk groups for selective efforts will be students who are: male, international, Asian descent, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning, college seniors, and graduate/professional. Specific goals are to: (1) ensure that a diverse group of students, staff, faculty, and administrators receive gatekeeper training and design and implement gatekeeper programs targeted to Emory; (2) strengthen Emory’s infrastructure through enhancing orientation activities, creating a suicide response and prevention plan and a formal suicide tracking and surveillance system, and expanding the screening efforts; (3) create and provide innovative, culturally relevant videos, community presentations, skills training seminars, and courses for undergraduate and graduate/professional students; (4) have a suicide prevention hotline available 24/7/365 and enhanced helpline volunteer training; (5)develop and disseminate comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and easily accessible informational materials through innovative technologies on the web and brochures; and (6) create and disseminate educational materials (e-newsletters, brochures, website) for students’ families and friends related to suicide prevention. An assessment will ascertain if the prevention efforts are associated with increased service utilization among individuals with suicidal behavior, particularly at-risk groups; overall reductions in suicidal ideation/attempts; greater knowledge among community members regarding suicide and its prevention; reductions in stigma associated with suicide and service use; and cultural transformation.

Contact Information:
Nadine Kaslow, PhD, ABPP
Professor, Chief Psychologist, Special Assistant to Provost
School of Medicine
Emory University
80 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30303
Tel: 404-616-4757
Email: NKASLOW@emory.edu

University of Hawaii  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The University of Hawaii (UH) system with ten culturally diverse campuses across four
Hawaiian Islands requires a comprehensive system-wide infrastructure in order to implement campus-specific suicide prevention and mental health programs. Seven goals to address infrastructure development needs are: 1) assess system-wide and campus specific needs; 2) develop policies and procedures for responding to critical mental health events; 3) identify system-wide and community-based resources; 4) establish campus-specific resource networks; 5) increase awareness and knowledge of risk and protective factors for suicide attempts among gatekeepers; 6) increase awareness and knowledge of risk and protective factors for suicide attempts among students; and 7) develop informational, educational, and training materials regarding risk and protective factors for suicide attempts and mental health adjustment. That UH system’s uniquely diverse general student population overlaps significantly with at-risk target populations underscores the importance of embedding culturally sensitive processes for program development and implementation. Outcomes expected are centralized and campus-specific guidelines for responding to critical and general mental health needs, increased awareness and knowledge among gatekeepers and target populations regarding risk and protective factors for suicide attempts, increased help seeking behavior and utilization of mental health services among general and target populations, and improved access to care and resources for critical and general mental health needs.

Contact Information:
Allyson Tanouye, PhD
Director
Counseling & Student Development Center
University of Hawaii - Manoa
2640 Dole St. QLC 312
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: 808-956-7927
Email: atanouye@hawaii.edu

Trinity Christian College (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The purpose of the Trinity Christian College Campus Suicide Prevention Grant program is to significantly expand the suicide prevention and response: services of a faith-based college in the Chicago area. This purpose will be met by adding a key program leader as well as grant and matching resources so that this task of prevention and response can be assigned to and effectively implemented by our on-campus counseling services and be connected to community resources. By means of this grant, we will place a Suicide Prevention Specialist (the project director) in our Cooper Career & Counseling Center (CCCC), improve our Crisis Response Plan to include a clear focus on suicide, create a comprehensive Suicide Prevention Plan that will employ multiple strategies, establish the gateway for both on- and off-campus services in our Cooper Career and Counseling Center, and educate those providing clinical services to our students as to the suicide prevention plan.

Our program is ideally suited for our target population which shows evidence of eating disorders, depression and other affective disorders, relational issues (friends and dating, family-including divorce, adoption, and step-family issues), alcohol and drug abuse/addiction, pornography and/or gambling addictions, and identity/sexual orientation issues as well as other mental and behavioral health issues that may lead to suicide. Our student body is 8% African-American, 2% Asian, 5% Hispanic, and 1.5% non-resident aliens; the remainder are Caucasians. This program is characterized by cultural competence by all involved; the staff for this program includes an Hispanic project director and two other ethnic minority clinicians.

This program will effectively address our needs for more training across campus, better linkage to off-campus providers, better understanding of mental and behavioral health services without stigma, easier and more available access for help, better understanding of the warning signs of suicide, and the need to connect families to solutions. Finally, addressing these needs will, per the purpose of the CSPG program, enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, which can lead to school failure.

Illinois State Page

Contact Information:
Scott A. Smith, MA, LPC
Trinity Christian College
6601 West College Drive
Palos Heights, IL 60463
Email: Scott.Smith@trnty.edu

Columbia College Chicago (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The purpose of the proposed project is to create and deliver training and support to students, faculty, staff, and parents to mitigate dangerous behaviors and prevent student suicide attempts. Columbia College Chicago ('Columbia') has not yet experienced a completed suicide on campus. However, Columbia has not been, until recently, a residential college. This means that students were most likely to express or manifest dangerous behaviors off campus. This, however, radically changed at the beginning of this academic year. 1489 students now live in dorm like facilities near to campus. In the three-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2004 we detected 7 suicide threats. Five of these resulted in hospital visits; Columbia, as a specialized college in the arts, media, and communication, recruits a particular kind of student; these are eventual media makers, artists, filmmakers, thespians, product, game, and graphic designers, and all manner of creative careers. In the main, we can characterize Columbia's stud entry as being primarily creative. We also believe that creative people learn in different ways. Columbia, whose mission directly relates to culture and creativity, realizes the importance of human creativity. Our proposed project supports not only our need for comprehensive services, but also our institution's unique orientation.

Illinois State Page

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Northeastern Illinois University (2005–2008)

Program Description:
Northeastern Illinois University requests funds to support a suicide prevention project designed to enhance campus awareness of factors related to campus suicide and related mental health issues, and to enhance institutional responsiveness to students at risk, strengthening the university's capacity to respond effectively to students in need. The project involves the development and delivery of workshops, seminars, and outreach presentations to faculty, staff, and students on suicidal risk factors, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and other behavioral factors related to suicide. These outreach and consultation presentations are designed to increase overall awareness within the university community, to enable faculty members and students to identify those at increased risk of suicide and other mental health problems that can interfere with their academic success, and to refer these at-risk students to the university's Counseling Office or other sources of assistance. The project also involves the strengthening of the university's capacity to respond to students in this project proposes to enhance collaboration between the Counseling Office and those individuals who are most influential in students' lives, such as faculty members, families and student colleagues. Mechanisms to strengthen collaboration between key service units are also proposed, including the development of a Crisis Response Team and a formal Crisis Response Plan, the development and provision of specialized training about suicidal risk factors and effective intervention techniques for first responders in selected service units, and the enhancement of referral systems between faculty departments and the Counseling Office.

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Purdue University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The purpose of ALIVE (Awareness Linking Individuals to Valuable Education) @ Purdue is to prevent adverse outcomes (i.e., suicide, suicide attempts, academic attrition) for students with depression and suicide risk by increasing the likelihood that they will be connected with appropriate services. ALIVE @ Purdue is designed to initiate a comprehensive environmental change around attitudes toward help seeking. The theory-based project involves the innovative use of graduate students in counseling as educators to train resident assistants and provide direct outreach to students in residence halls, enhanced by the implementation of a supporting media campaign. ALIVE @ Purdue has the potential to reach 11,000 students a year with its message.

ALIVE Purdue has two specific goals. Goal one is to increase the likelihood that RAs will identify and refer at-risk students. Goal two is to improve the help-seeking behavior of at-risk students. To accomplish these goals, ALIVE @ Purdue will design and deliver RA training and direct outreach programs and a media campaign (Web sites, public service announcements, bulletin board kits, ads on Facebook.com, etc.) that address (a) knowledge about mental health and behavioral problems and resources, (b) attitudes toward help seeking, and (c) skills in referring at-risk students. The program uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB, Ajzen, 1991) as a theoretical framework to guide program development and evaluation. Graduate students in College Student Personnel and Counseling Psychology will be trained as ALIVE @ Purdue Educators to deliver RA training and outreach programs.

The division of program activities into these two goals, while necessary for clarity of program delivery and evaluation, obscures the synergistic nature of the ALIVE @ Purdue program. The components of ALIVE @ Purdue work together to increase RAs' effectiveness as mental health gatekeepers. The program provides RAs with enhanced training in the areas of suicide, suicide risk, and the art of referral; it also provides them with previously non-existing tools in the form of outreach programming and the media campaign. The media campaign creates greater receptivity on the part of students at risk to outreach efforts and to RA referrals.

ALIVE @ Purdue represents a collaborative effort between the academic programs in College Student Personnel and Counseling Psychology and Purdue's Counseling and Psychological Services center with support and cooperation from University Residences, Purdue's Assessment Research Center, and the Lafayette Crisis Center.

Indiana State Page

Contact Information:
Heather L. Servaty-Seib PhD
Purdue University
Beering Hall
100 North University St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098
Email: servaty@purdue.edu

Kansas State University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
UniversityLifeCafe.org is an innovative, interactive online program designed to engage college students in promoting mental wellness, particularly with regard to prevention of suicide, depression, and substance abuse, and encourage help-seeking behaviors so as to enhance positive experiences and success while in college. This online program complements a comprehensive campus-wide action plan including programming and training for students, faculty, and staff. UniversityLifeCafe.org goes beyond the typical, static, text-based web site of informational pages to engage college students at a deeper level with a complete online program of content and features that are relevant to their needs, interests, and comfort with using the Internet. The mental wellness approach to UniversityLifeCafe.org focuses more on how to be mentally healthy and less on the pathology of mental illness. This friendlier approach lays the groundwork for reducing the stigma of mental illness, and promoting help-seeking behaviors. The content of the program will be developed with a significant amount of student input through campus focus groups. Content will be delivered in a variety of formats, including text, audio, video, and podcasts. Where appropriate, students will be able to download content to their own computer for private use, for printing, or to download onto their MP3 players or iPods. Through the use of discussion boards, blogs, and the like, students will have the opportunity to connect with other students, discuss matters that are important to them, and otherwise learn that they are not alone in struggles they may experience while in college. The campus-wide programming and training efforts involve major student-oriented offices and organizations in reaching out to students and faculty/staff, while respecting the race, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, and belief system of every member of our campus community. If UniversityLifeCafe.org is found to be useful for students at Kansas State University, it could certainly be made available to other students across the nation.

Contact Information:
Barbara Pearson, Ph.D.
Psychologist (Counseling Services)
Project Director Campus Suicide Prevention Grant
Kansas State University
232 English
Manhattan, KS 66506
Tel: 785-532-6804
Email: bpearson@ksu.edu

University of Kentucky - Lexington (2008–2011)

Program Description:
Increasing Networks for Campus Awareness to Suicide and Emergencies (UK-IN-CASE) seeks to create a safer and more caring campus community, assisting those at-risk for suicidal behavior and supporting those who are concerned about the welfare of campus community members. UK-IN-CASE coordinates efforts among Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and the University's medical campus.

One component of the program is the creation of a campus advisory group (composed of multiple campus departments, offices, academic units, and community consultants) that creates a comprehensive campus suicide prevention plan. Other activities include social marketing and educational programs to educate students, their families, and community members in an effort to decrease stigma and encourage help-seeking. The program also targets specific populations of students, faculty, and staff for gatekeeper training. Finally, the program ensures that campus professionals and students in professional programs receive appropriate clinical training. Evaluation and data collection efforts provide evidence of whether or not program activities are effective.

Contact Information:
Carrie Schurtz
University of Kentucky
597 South Upper Street
Lexington, KY 40506
Tel: 859-230-8822
Email: clprob2@email.uky.edu

University of Louisiana - Monroe  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) HELPS (Helping Educators and Learners Prevent Suicide) project will support a comprehensive and coordinated campus effort designed to educate faculty, staff, incoming freshmen and their families, as well as the student body at large, about the risk and protective factors associated with suicide and suicide ideation to help (1) increase the identification of students at risk for suicide or with mental and behavioral problems that may increase the risk of suicide, (2) appropriately respond to students at risk, (3) promote help seeking behaviors and recommend appropriate referral sources, and ultimately (4) prevent death by suicide as well as suicide attempts by ULM students.  The program will: (1) Educate and empower faculty, staff and police officers.Professional development seminars and courses will be developed along with paper and electronic awareness campaigns. (2) Enhance already existing services and training programs aimed at educating incoming freshmen and their families. Educational workshops will be developed along with culturally appropriate paper and electronic awareness campaigns. (3) Enhance already existing services and training programs aimed at educating the ULM student body at large.Culturally appropriate electronic and paper educational tools and awareness campaigns will be developed.

Contact Information:
Jana Sutton, PhD
Assistant Professor, Director of Clinical Services
Marriage and Family Therapy Program
University of Louisiana at Monroe
700 University Ave.
Monroe, LA 71209
Tel: 318-342-8197
Email: sutton@ulm.edu

University of Maine (2008–2011)

Program Description:
The Touchstone Suicide Prevention Program provides suicide prevention for all 12,000 students of the University of Maine, a rural Land and Sea Grant College in Orono, Maine. Faculty, staff, and students will be trained to identify and intervene with students at risk. Web-based assessment, education, referral, and electronic communication will lower the barrier to service for students at risk while facilitating access to mental health and other University resources.

Two primary goals underlying all aspects of the Touchstone Program are 1) to reduce barriers to services and resources and 2) to promote both help-seeking behavior and engagement by students at risk or in need.

Primary activities will include: 1) Training ten percent of faculty and staff as "gatekeepers" capable of identifying, intervening and referring at risk students to professional health care providers and other university resources; 2) Selecting a group of students to participate in a class and receive training to become Touchstone Peers. These students will be trained as "gatekeepers"; work to decrease stigma associated with mental illness and help seeking; and help to shift the campus climate by increasing student engagement, belongingness and 3) Integrating web-based technology and electronic communication as a means to lower barriers and promote access to mental health services and information.

When building the Touchstone Suicide Prevention Program, we took into account that students who are engaged are less likely to attempt or die by suicide than those who are isolated and marginalized. Therefore, the Touchstone Suicide Prevention Program integrates crisis intervention with efforts to engage students who would not otherwise be engaged.

Contact Information:
Douglas P. Johnson Ph.D.
Project Director
Director of the Counseling Center and Peer Education Program
University of Maine
5721 Cutler Health Building
Orono, ME 04469
Tel: 207-581-1392
Email: Doug.Johnson@umit.maine.edu

University of Maryland (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University of Maryland College Park (UM) is highly concerned about addressing student's mental health needs and is committed to providing them with easily accessible services. To this end, UM proposes the Suicide Awareness Health Education and Training (SAHET) project, a comprehensive suicide prevention program that will unite a variety of stakeholders, namely, administrators, clinicians, student representatives and researchers toward a common goal: to address and reduce suicidal behaviors among our students. Led by the University Health Center (UHC), and supported by a team of multidisciplinary experts, the project will: 1) create and implement a comprehensive strategic suicide prevention plan with guidance from a Campus Advisory Board; 2) create research-based written and web-based informational materials to increase awareness among the campus community of the magnitude of suicidal behavior, recognition, risk assessment, social, family and mental health correlates, and materials that promote the reduction of stigma associated with help-seeking behaviors; 3) hold structured training programs for a broad spectrum of campus professionals who come in contact with students; 4) hold educational seminars for students and their parents on suicide prevention, risk assessment and crisis response. Pre-post assessments will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the implementation strategy and user-friendliness of materials as well as measure the knowledge gained in a number of topic areas. The ultimate goal of the project will be to centralize mental health referrals to the UHC that will be tracked through administrative data monitoring. We will also promote the linkage to already existing state and local hotlines as well as make available the wealth of information already available at the national level on depression and suicide awareness and prevention.

Contact Information:
Marta Hopkinson
University of Maryland
2134 Health Center
College Park, MD 20742
Tel: 301-314-8106
Email: Hopkinson@health.umd.edu

Towson University  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
Towson University Counseling Center (TUCC) will provide and evaluate gatekeeper training to students and campus personnel to assist in identifying students at risk for suicide and referring them for help. Project funds will enable TUCC to increase the number of educational seminars providing culturally competent information about suicide risk factors and reducing treatment stigma. The project will create and implement a comprehensive, strategic suicide prevention plan and ensure that the university response to students is as helpful as possible. Students who engage in behaviors raising concern regarding possible risk to self or others are brought to the attention of the Campus Student Concerns Committee.  The Committee will identify what actions need to be taken to best assist the student and protect the community. The grant will also provide for the development of infrastructure to support the committee.

The project will also include developing improved infrastructure and a referral database to assist potentially at-risk students to access services beyond the scope of what the TUCC provides. The database would allow TUCC providers to connect students more quickly to the most appropriate resource to fit their individual and culturally-specific needs. Enhanced visibility of the TUCC hotline and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will provide access to crisis response to all students, including African American students and LGBTI students who are a focus of the project. Culturally-specific, web-based materials will also be developed for faculty, family members, and community gatekeepers.

Contact Information:
Bruce Herman, PhD
Assistant Director
Counseling Center
Towson University
8000 York Rd.
Towson, MD 21252-0001
Tel: 410-704-2512
Email: bjherman@towson.edu

Massachusetts Maritime Academy (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) requests funds to support a comprehensive suicide prevention program with the goals of educating the campus community on suicide risk behavior prevention, recognition, and intervention, developing and supporting healthy coping mechanisms among students to reduce suicide risk factors, and enhancing institutional resources for students at risk, strengthening the college's capacity to respond effectively to students in need.

MMA educates men and women to serve in the maritime industry. It is one of six state maritime colleges in the United States. Resident life is regimented, and all cadets are required to undergo rigorous training and spend a portion of their academic program at sea. These demanding circumstances coupled with the expected demands of college life present unique challenges for MMA cadets. The academic year 2004-2005 was the first time MMA offered a licensed counselor on campus for eight hours a week. While we are experiencing a positive impact as a result, there remains a vast gap between what exists and what is needed.

The objectives to achieve the goals of the MMA Comprehensive Suicide Prevention program are the following: (1) Tram key personnel as Gatekeeper trainers who will then train staff, faculty and students to respond effectively to students with mental health and behavioral problems; (2) create a critical incident response plan and networking infrastructure including, but not limited to a suicide hotline and a comprehensive website; (3) create a full time position for a counselor on campus increasing intervention options for students at risk and to provide educational seminars and mental health awareness opportunities for all students; (4) implement a comprehensive "Freshman 101" course focusing on developing healthy coping skills during the first semester at college that will decrease the stress of transition and ensure personal and academic success; (5) prepare and disseminate suicide risk informational and educational materials for students and families of students.

Contact Information:
Anne J. Fredrickson
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
101 Academy Drive
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Email: afredrickson@maritime.edu

Tufts University (2008–2011)

Program Description:
Tufts Community Cares: A Suicide Prevention Program will work with Tufts University faculty, staff, targeted student groups including peer leaders, students from Tufts' six Culture Centers (Africana, Asian American, International, Latino, LGBT, and Women's) and the general student population, and families to support a comprehensive suicide prevention program. Its goals are to increase awareness of signs and symptoms of depression, student distress, suicide risk and available resources; decrease barriers to help-seeking, including stigma, lack of awareness, misinformation or other factors that inhibit students' utilization of mental health or other supports; and enhance linkages within the community between mental health/substance abuse services, and gatekeepers, students, families, and other sources of support.

The activities of the program include conducting bi-annual enhanced faculty, staff and student gatekeeper trainings, conducting seven focus groups with target student populations noted above to gather information for program development and implementation, creation of bi-annual family wellness newsletters and year-long universal programming to reduce stigma. Both formative and summative evaluations will be used to enable the capture of data regarding 1) satisfaction with gatekeeper training, culturally appropriate educational sessions, the family newsletter and universal programming on-campus, 2) learning about suicide prevention methods and available resources for assistance, and 3) performance of suicide prevention counseling and referral methods. As data will be collected from a multitude of sources, the linking of data across participants and elements will be possible.

Contact Information:
Bonnie Lipton, MPH
Project Coordinator, Health Education
Tufts University
124 Professors Row
Medford, MA 02155
Tel: 617- 627-514
Email: bonnie.lipton@tufts.edu

Boston University  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The goals of Boston University Suicide Prevention Program (BUSPP) are to: 1)increase awareness, both universally and within targeted populations, of the signs and symptoms of depression, student distress, suicide risk, and helpful university resources; 2) increase help-seeking  stigma, lack of awareness, cultural barriers, and misinformation that inhibit utilization of mental health services and resources on campus and within our community; 3) enhance linkages within the University community between mental health services, substance abuse services, gatekeepers, faculty, staff, students, families, and relevant external community services in such a way that they are sustainable and promote a Boston University culture of wellness. The BUSPP activities include:  (1) conducting bi-annual enhanced gatekeeper trainings; (2) focus groups with targeted populations to inform the relevancy of gatekeeper training, educational seminars, and development of suicide prevention materials; (3) creating monthly family and faculty e-newsletters on mental health prevention and promotion, suicide risk and university resources; and (4) year-long high-visibility programming for the entire University to reduce stigma. Planned outcomes include increases in help-seeking behaviors, decreased suicide attempts, increases in university prevention activities, infrastructure and university network strength, increases in utilization of suicide prevention resources, and student role competence.

Contact Information:
Dori Hutchinson, ScD
Director of Services
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Boston University
940 Commonweath Ave.
Boston, MA 02215-1203
Tel: 617-353-3549
Email: dorih@bu.edu

University of Massachusetts - Amherst  (2006–2009 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
The project will target the entire student population of 25,000+ students. The goals are to: (1) expand the number of key constituencies, on and off campus, trained as gatekeepers and educated about suicide prevention; (2) develop culturally responsive materials; (3)  use environmental strategies to reduce stigma associated with help seeking behavior for mental health issues; (4) and institutionalize suicide prevention efforts. The project will expand the number of key students and staff trained as gatekeepers. Project staff will continue to offer the Campus Connect gatekeeper training developed at Syracuse University and offer educational opportunities. Other major areas of focus will be to develop additional methods of disseminating knowledge about suicide prevention through online training, educational seminars, culturally responsive materials, and to use environmental strategies to reduce stigma associated with help seeking behavior for mental health issues. Efforts will also focus on institutionalizing suicide prevention across the campus. Planned outcomes include: (1) enhanced basic suicide prevention and intervention skills across campus and off-campus constituencies promoting early recognition and intervention; (2) standardized and culturally responsive intervention and referral protocols and educational materials; (3) reduced stigma associated with help-seeking behavior; and (4) suicide prevention efforts that are institutionalized on campus and in the local community to support sustainability.

Contact Information:
Harry Rockland-Miller, PhD
Director
Mental Health Services
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
150 Infirmary Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9288
Tel: 413-545-0269
Email: rockmill@uhs.umass.edu

Worcester Polytechnic Institute  (2006–2009 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
Worcester Polytech Institute (WPI) will enhance, expand, and make available to other campuses: (1) Student Support Network (SSN), a comprehensive suicide prevention program developed by the Student Development and Counseling Center (SDCC).  SSN is a six-week training program that has improved the network of student support at WPI and can serve as a model for enhancing the network of safety on campuses nationwide.  WPI will expand and evolve the SSN training model to incorporate stigma reduction elements drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT stigma reduction training protocols are oriented in part towards promoting acceptance by helping individuals understand the universality of mental health struggles. In addition to continuing peer training, the SSN training series will be implemented for key faculty and staff as well as groups of students who are known to underutilize mental health services: international students, underrepresented students, and graduate students. Also, WPI will seek to develop and deploy population-based messaging aimed at mental health stigma reduction based on key core concepts identified in the ACT model. WPI will seek to standardize and disseminate the SSN program to interested campuses across the country.

Contact Information:
Charles Morse, MA, LMHC
Director
Student Development & Counseling
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609
Tel: 508-831-5540
Email: cmorse@wpi.edu

Western Michigan University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The escalation of mental health difficulties and the steady level of suicide completions among college students prompt the call for effective university-based prevention efforts. This comprehensive suicide prevention plan for Western Michigan University seeks to modify aspects of the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (2001) to a non-military, academic environment.

The Air Force program reduced the incidence of completed suicides and attempts among Air Force Personnel and is considered "highly effective" according to SAMHSA. The elements adapted include; the utilization of a community-based approach, the use of community leaders to carry out and support the program, the dissemination of information regarding risk factors, symptoms, and referral sources for depression and suicide, and the promotion of help seeking behavior among students at risk. Proposed activities include the training of campus leaders, the use of culturally sensitive social marketing activities to promote community responsiveness to mental health problems and promote help seeking, and the use of the web-based technology to educate the community. Special emphasis will be placed upon reaching underrepresented students through the use of their social connections and student groups.

Contact Information:
Delores Walcott
Western Michigan University
Univ. Counseling and Testing Center
3609 Canterbury Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Tel: 269-373-6436
Email: delores.walcott@wmich.edu

Michigan State University (2009–2012)

Program Description:
Michigan State University’s (MSU) suicide prevention program is called FACES—Freshmen Accessing Community and Embracing Survival.  The FACES program includes: 1) an educational initiative focused on the First-Year Experience programs that facilitate the transition of all first-year students to MSU, both academically and psychosocially; 2) systematic training of selected faculty, staff, and student leaders in the “Question, Persuade, Refer” (QPR) protocol for suicide intervention and referral; 3) integrating our network of mental health services on- and off-campus, including referrals to MSU Counseling Center, Olin Health Center, and area hospitals; 4) a media campaign regarding mental health issues and services; 5)promoting awareness of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1 800-273-TALK) in all FACES printed material and media; and 6) a campaign intended to educate parents regarding depression and suicide, increase their communication with freshmen students, and provide information about available mental health services. Our overall intent in implementing the FACES program is to shift the culture of MSU toward a more engaged and responsive awareness that each student matters and is part of a caring community.

Contact Information:
Jan Collins-Eaglin, PhD
Director
Counseling Center
Michigan State University
207 Student Services Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
Tel: 517-355-8270
Email: jceaglin@msu.edu

Mississippi State University - Meridian (2006–2009 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
The Mississippi State University-Meridian (MSU-Meridian) Campus Suicide Prevention Program proposes to sustain the current components of our secondary suicide prevention program and build on primary wellness-based suicide prevention components.   MSU-Meridian Campus has a contract with a local EAP provider so that campus students and their families have access to free unlimited outpatient mental health services. The MSU-Meridian Campus secondary suicide prevention program components that will be sustained include: (1) mental health network between campus and community mental health services; (2) crisis response plan to include responses to suicide; (3) integration of Lifeline throughout program; (4) informational materials for students and families; (5) gatekeeper workshops; (6) depression, substance abuse, and suicide online education mini-courses; (7) College Response online clinical screening; (8) anti-stigma artwork series; and (9) student peer helper program. The wellness-based primary suicide prevention components that will be added include: (1) Indivisible Self Model of Wellness (Myers and Sweeney, 2004) that includes seventeen components of wellness grouped into five main factors of self; (2) monthly activities designed to develop specific wellness components (for example, exercise may include the campus activity of “yoga class before evening class”); and (3) wellness component online mini-courses that will further develop wellness through additional exercises/activities.

Contact Information:
Darren Wozny, PhD
Professor
Counselor Education
Mississippi State University - Meridian
1000 Highway 19 North
Meridian, MS 39307-5799
Tel: 601-484-0166
Email: dwozny@meridian.msstate.edu

University of Southern Mississippi (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University Counseling Center, a comprehensive mental health service provider of the University of Southern Mississippi, plans to improve and enhance its educational, training, and evaluation components needed to promote suicide prevention. This project focuses on clinical, educational and training interventions that will promote suicide awareness and decrease the occurrence of suicidal attempts and suicide of students at USM. This project includes campus activities that will highlight mental health issues and decrease the stigma surrounding asking for help. In addition, the gatekeepers of the University will be provided with training to improve response to students in crisis. This Suicide Prevention Project will include the formation of a collaborative task force that will create and implement a campus response plan to reduce suicide on campus. Through this project, the UCC will also improve data collection and evaluation that will guide its clinical, educational, and training responsibilities around the issues of mental health at USM.

Contact Information:
Deena L. Crawford, LMSW
Interim Director, Counseling Center
Project Director- Suicide Prevention Grant
University of Southern Mississippi
University Counseling Center
118 College Drive, #5075
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Tel: 601-266-4829
Email: deena.crawford@usm.edu

Linn State Technical College (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Linn State Technical College (LSTC) embraces its state mandated mission "to prepare students for profitable employment". In order to fulfill this mission, LSTC must insure the safety of its students, including both mental and physical well being of each student. Enhancing current resources, training and programs, the collaborative development with the Community Health Center of Central Missouri and providing easier access to information on the LSTC website will assist the college in supporting this mission. In order to increase awareness of suicide risk factors, Linn State Technical College would like to emulate the suggested school responsibilities in suicide prevention as recommended by the Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action (CSMHA). These-include (1)Ensuring that school staff are knowledgeable of warning signs for suicide and informed about guidelines for reporting concerns about students (2) Developing policies for notifying parents of suicidal youth including referrals and recommendations for how they should intervene (3) Offering consistent counseling and support by school staff for suicidal students.

Data provided by the Missouri Department of Health supports the fact that Linn State Technical College students are among the highest percentage of gender, race and classification to commit suicide. Missouri's suicide rate is the highest in Region VII, which includes the states of Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in Missouri, primarily by the method of choice of firearms. Men account for 78% of completed suicides. White, non-Hispanics account for the highest percentage of completed suicides at 93%. There are more suicides in Missouri than homicides, averaging two people dieing by suicide everyday. Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death of adults, the third leading cause of death for kids, and the second leading cause of death for College students. In the past 60 years, the rate has quadrupled for males 15 -24 years old and has doubled for females of the same age. Linn State Technical College would like to provide the best resources and training to its employees, students and student's families in order to reduce the probability of suicide as well as promote positive mental health on its campus.

Contact Information:
Jason Hoffmeyer
Linn State Technical College
One Technology Drive
Linn, MO 65051
Tel: 573-897-5110
Email: jason.hoffmeyer@linnstate.edu

Northwest Missouri State University (2005–2008 & 2006–2009 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
Northwest Missouri State University is a four-year state-assisted regional university of 6,500 students in Maryville, Missouri, a community of 11,000 residents in rural Nodaway County. The composition of its student body is predominately rural, with an ethnically diverse population of less than 11%. Northwest Missouri State University's program intends to foster the healthiest learning environment possible for its students through the collaboration of the university and its partners in the domain of suicide prevention and the promotion of mental health services. Through education, training, policy development, and collaboration, Northwest's program aims to reduce suicides and suicidal behaviors on its campus.

The need for comprehensive suicide prevention efforts at Northwest is evident through data showing high levels of mental health issues and suicide-related behaviors among its students.

The program's 5 goals are founded in best practices and, when implemented together, will have an impact on University policy and processes, the utilization of mental health services at Northwest, and the knowledge and attitudes regarding mental health issues and suicide among Northwest students. These goals aim to (1) Help students deal with the rigors of college life in healthy ways, (2) Destigmatize mental health issues and help-seeking behavior, (3) Educate students on suicide-related issues, (4) Strengthen Northwest policies concerning students in crisis, and (5) Forge strong campus/community partnerships centered on suicide prevention efforts.

Contact Information:
Beau Dooley, MPH
Project Director
Northwest Missouri State University
800 University Dr.
Maryville, MO 64468
Tel: 660-562-1633
Email: bdooley@nwmissouri.edu

University of Nebraska - Kearney (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University of Nebraska Kearney, founded in 1905, is Nebraska's public, residential university that is distinguished by its commitment to be the state's premier institution of undergraduate education. UNK is home to 6,382 undergraduate students from 37 states and 50 countries. UNK's Counseling & Health Care Department supports the academic mission of the University of Nebraska Kearney by providing professional mental and physical health prevention and intervention services, thereby enhancing students' intellectual proficiency. This however is a difficult task when students view "free services" as "less service" and opt not to utilize Counseling & Health Care. Since the Fall of 2004, UNK's Counseling Care has seen a total of 220 students due to a "depressed mood," making up thirty-six percent of all students seen by counselors during that time frame. Of these students, fifty-three percent are clients with suicide ideation and twelve percent have been hospitalized for attempting suicide, with one student committing suicide in the Spring of 2005. Several notable assessments; including the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, provides data showing that a high percentage of UNK students have or do experience some form of mental health illness. However, many of these students do not seek help due to the stigma associated with mental health illness. Surveys also show that many students arrive on campus already suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental health illnesses. Therefore the target population for this project is first and second year students along with the international student population living on campus. The goals of the UNK Comprehensive Suicide Prevention program are to: (1) increase the number of students seen for mental health issues by 10 percent through physically connecting UNK's Counseling and Health Care offices; (2) enhance UNK's current crisis response plan through training opportunities for the UNK community and those who are actively involved with executing the plan; (3) enhance student services by creating a networking infrastructure to link UNK with at least two providers from the broader community who can treat mental and behavioral health problems; (4) recruit and train nineteen peer counselors to respond effectively when dealing with mental and behavioral health issues; (5) to create a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) campus organization in order to diminish the stigma and barriers associated with help-seeking behaviors for mental and behavioral health issues by 10 percent within the first year of the organizations existence. To meet these objectives, we propose to conduct gatekeeper training; develop and implement education seminars; provide wellness training to undergraduate peer counselors, disseminate information to parents, and create linkages to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Contact Information:
Kristin Steinbeck
Project Director
University of Nebraska, Kearney
2510 11th Avenue
MSAB 144
Kearney, NE 68849
Tel: 308-865-8248
Email: steinbeckka@unk.edu

Keene State College (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The KSC suicide prevention project is a comprehensive, multi-level program designed to educate the college community about suicide and how to respond to someone who is suicidal, to reduce the stigma of counseling, to coordinate prevention and response efforts with the town and state organizations, and to intervene with at-risk students to promote their safety and well-being.

The educational component is multifaceted and includes targeted gatekeeper training, educational seminars, and development of a variety of materials including information about suicide and resources, postvention materials, information for parents, and stigma reduction materials such as stress balls, posters, bookmarks, etc. Educational seminars may be coordinated with outside agencies such as NAMI and include seminars by past and present students about their mental health challenges and triumphs and large group talks on overcoming depression/suicidal thinking and/or happiness.

Response to at-risk students is also multifaceted. It includes working with the local mental health agency to coordinate the assessment of high risk individuals and coordinate treatment upon release and developing policies and procedures for mandated safety sessions. At risk students are defined as those who are actively suicidal, i.e., have either made a suicide attempt or are overtly threatening suicide and students who have been hospitalized or held in protective custody because of alcohol poisoning.

New Hampshire

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Saint Peter's College (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The proposed Suicide Prevention Project at Saint Peter's College is a collaborative project among the following agencies: (1) Saint Peter's College (2) Asian Resource Center for Families & Children, and (3) Best Practices for Children & Families (Servicio Mejores para Ninos y Familia). In addition, Saint Peter's College has a formal affiliation agreement with Jersey City Medical Center for the latter to provide medical, mobile crisis intervention service and inpatient psychiatric treatment.

Saint Peter's College, located in Jersey City, has the unique distinction of being the only private college in New Jersey that is a U.S. Department of Education-designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Saint Peter's College serves a predominantly local student pool, with more than 40% living within 10 miles of the college's main campus in Jersey City, New Jersey. The total college enrollment is 3,282 with the following racial/ethnic breakdown: 40.6% White Non-Hispanic, 28.6% Hispanic, 19,7% African American, 7.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 0.3% American Indian/Alaskan Native. Jersey City, the second largest city in New Jersey, has an ethnically diverse population of 240,055: 34.0% White, 28.3% Black, 16.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 21.1% Other Race (US Census, 2000). In 2000, 28.3% of the population was of Hispanic origin.

The primary goals of the proposed project are to prevent suicide among students attending Saint Peter's College, and reduce problems associated with suicide including depression and alcohol abuse. These goals will be achieved through the implementation of the following activities: an enhanced and more culturally sensitive training program for peer educators, faculty and staff to respond to students with mental health and substance abuse problems; a cadre of trained peer educators to assist current counseling staff in the implementation of project activities including a suicide response plan patterned after the University of Idaho's Suicide Behavior Response Plan; annual ethnic diversity & mental health wellness fair; and educational workshops on suicide prevention, identification, and reduction of risk factors. A unique feature of the proposed project is an active outreach to families of Hispanic students to educate them on the college experience (to enhance Hispanic student retention); and to teach them skills to reduce parent-child conflicts (a major cause of suicidal behaviors among adolescent Hispanic females). A two-part evaluation (process and outcome) will be conducted by Dr. Fred Andes, Associate

Contact Information:
Ronald Becker
Saint Peter's College
2641 Kennedy Blvd.
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Email: rbecker@spc.edu

New Mexico Highlands University (2009–2012)

Program Description:
New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a state-supported coeducational institution and a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution in Northern New Mexico. The NMHU Campus Suicide Prevention (CSP) Project will serve the 2,399 multi-ethnic students, median age 23, enrolled at the main campus in Las Vegas. Many NMHU students come from geographic areas and socioeconomic backgrounds that put them at risk for mental and behavioral health problems linked to suicide. All six CSP activities will be included in a comprehensive approach. The NMHU CSP Project is a public health approach to collaboration among the university and the Sangre de Cristo Community Health Partnership (SDCCHP) and the New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project (NMSIP). Results of our comprehensive approach and assistance to the NMHU community will enhance attitudes and abilities for effective efforts and services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, such as depression and substance abuse that put them at risk for suicide and suicide attempts. The project will utilize participatory, and collaborative, methods of evaluation, which have proven successful as an element of larger community and system change.

Contact Information:
Judy Cordova-Romero
Vice President
Student Affairs
New Mexico Highlands University
P.O. Box 9000
Las Vegas, NM 87701
Tel: 505-454-3566
Email: JudyCordova@nmhu.edu

Stony Brook University (2008–2011)

Program Description:
Stony Brook University seeks to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to preventing suicide by creating a network of knowledgeable and effective gatekeepers across the campus and effectively reaching Asian American students with critical information about suicide, stress management, and ways to access campus resources. This project directly engages key faculty and staff stakeholders in suicide prevention through implementation of an established gatekeeper training program (QPR). In addition, this project reaches out to a largely overlooked, high-risk population by collaborating with Asian American faculty and staff mentors to provide educational seminars. These seminars contextualize suicide and depression using language and concepts which are more consistent with the beliefs and values of Asian American students.

Contact Information:
Michael Bombardier, Ph.D.
SUNY-Stony Brook
Student Union, Rm. 216B
216 Stony Brook Union
Stony Brook, NY 11794
Tel: 631-632-2748
Email: Michael.Bombardier@stonybrook.edu

Syracuse University (2005–2008)

Program Description:
Syracuse University has been increasingly concerned with the serious and diverse mental and behavioral health problems among its students. The belief that student isolation and difficulty in tolerating emotional distress significantly contribute to these mental health difficulties have prompted our Center to develop two specific prevention programs with the support of the SAMHSA grant: 1) Campus Connect Gatekeeper Training workshop and 2) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction educational seminars.

Our gatekeeper training workshop is a three-hour experientially based crisis intervention and suicide prevention training program. In Year 1 of our grant, we have trained and assessed all of our Residence Life staff (250), and our Health Services staff (50). Outcome studies to date are evidencing highly significant results. Satisfaction surveys are quite positive. As a result of our preliminary success, several other colleges and universities have requested training in the implementation of our model.

Our Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Seminar series has also met with success. Thus far, we have offered three eight-week seminars to over 80 students. Preliminary outcome results evidence significant results and students completing the course are overwhelmingly positive with regard to its affect on their ability to tolerate emotional distress.

In addition to our specific programs, we have also begun a campus wide social marketing campaign with posters and public service radio announcements aimed at de-stigmatizing the need for mental health services and increasing awareness and visibility of our Counseling Center.

New York State Page

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

University at Albany (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
The University at Albany, State University of New York (UAlbany) proposes to meet the unique and complex needs of its undergraduate and graduate students who are at high risk for suicide through the enhancement of its existing Comprehensive Campus Suicide Prevention Model, entitled The STEPS Program. Specifically, we will focus efforts on: 1) developing comprehensive, targeted, culturally sensitive, and audience/department-specific gatekeeper training programs for academic faculty and paraprofessional student staff members; 2) prepare informational materials, including a media campaign featuring our students, addressing these risk factors and encouraging help-seeking.

The objectives of the UAlbany STEPS Program training and educational enhancements are consistent with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (2004) recommendations and will 1) reduce rates of student suicide, suicide attempts, and related mental/behavioral health problems that can lead to school failure, and; 2) increase the utilization of campus mental health and related primary care services by the students in most need of them, as well as to increase the number of mental health consultations and referrals of students by our campus responders.

This project contributes to the development and enhancement of targeted educational, service and prevention best practice strategies and capacity by clarifying how well both universal and targeted individual-focused interventions derived from needs assessments and survey research with our target population work with our students who are identified as being at high risk for suicide.

Contact Information:
M. Dolores Cimini, Ph.D.
Co-Project Director
Assistant Director for Prevention and Program Evaluation, University Counseling Center
University at Albany, SUNY
400 Patroon Creek Boulevard, Suite 104
Albany, NY 12206
Tel: 518-442-5800
Email: dcimini@uamail.albany.edu

Pace University (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
Pace University Counseling Center NY serves its diverse campus population by providing a wide range of counseling services to meet the mental health needs of its students. The goals of Project OPEN (Outreach Prevention Education Network) are to: (1) Develop a Multicultural Competence and Response Kit (MCRK) for the purpose of developing skill in crisis and suicide intervention with students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. (2) Develop a network of active connections to the mental health units of New York area hospitals to create additional student-competent mental health resources for the Pace community; disseminate in-service trainings that will sensitize hospital-based personnel to the unique psychological aspects of the college experience in the prevention of mental illness and suicide. (3) Develop a Multicultural Competence and Prevention Kit (MCPK) that will support trainings with other New York area college and university mental-health units in fostering awareness, sensitivity, and education regarding the impact of Stigma, Discrimination, and Hate crimes as these contribute to depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide within an education community. (4) Advertise and integrate the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline information into First-Year orientation and outreach with Pace University students, faculty, and staff. (5) Develop both a brochure and a Counseling Center website-based program designed to address parents in promoting effective recognition of help-seeking behavior, the signs and symptoms of psychological distress and the possible contemplation of suicide, the impact of Stigma on preventing effective acknowledgement and utilization of mental health services, and other mental health aspects of the college experience.

Contact Information:
Richard Shadick, PhD
Pace University Counseling Center
156 William St., 12th floor
New York, NY 10038
Tel: 212-346-1527
Email: rshadick@pace.edu

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005–2008)

Program Description:
In response to the growing issues related to depression and substance abuse, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will enhance existing programs and add several novel approaches, which will benefit the target population. Rensselaer has designed a program to develop training programs for students and campus personnel, create an on-campus network, develop and implement educational seminars, promote linkage to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, prepare informational material and prepare educational material for families. It is expected that the evaluation will show that Rensselaer students will experience fewer mental and behavioral health problems each year that the comprehensive program exists.

Two key items are an institutional assessment and the need to develop a Crisis Response Plan. The Jed Foundation was contacted and they, along with consultant Dr. Mort Silverman, will perform the assessment. It is hoped that the assessment report, along with the evaluation efforts of this project, will allow Rensselaer to create an innovative new strategy for suicide prevention. Additionally Rensselaer will create, disseminate, and then practice a Crisis Response Plan.

Additionally, we plan to enhance existing services and improve access to care by contracting with a psychiatrist one day a week. Finally, this project will allow Rensselaer to fully take advantage of the data that is gathered, by expanding the analysis to focus specifically on depression and academic success.

New York State Page

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

SUNY - Buffalo (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University at Buffalo seeks to address suicidal and other harmful behaviors through a comprehensive prevention approach. Project UB WELL ((University at Buffalo Wellness Enhanced Living and Learning) involves a wide range of campus and community resources and constituencies, such as faculty, staff, students, parents, and local mental health services to foster an environment where self-care, connectedness, and knowledge of resources are valued and readily accessed or implemented. Through funding from this grant a variety of stakeholders will be trained in QPR in order to identify persons at risk and in need of treatment. Training of nonclinician "gatekeepers" will convey the message that the entire community is charged with helping other individuals within it. The Inside-Out educational programs aim to normalize experiences of emotional distress, promote and support protective factors, and make students active participants in creating a public awareness campaign by encouraging them to use art, theatre, dance, writing, visual media, and class discussion to engage in dialogue and expression related to emotional wellness. The expertise of local psychiatric emergency personnel in treating acutely suicidal individuals will be shared with campus psychologists, social workers, health educators, and healthcare providers via developing curricula and in vivo training. The collaboration also involves using hospital data to identify the student groups who are at risk for suicidal behavior and other mental illnesses to inform public awareness campaigns and clinical interventions on campus and to develop protocols for a more coordinated response between campus and the local community. All of the new initiatives will be optimized by utilizing technology and media that is in keeping with how students typically access information.

New York State Page

Contact Information:
Sharon L. Mitchell
University at Buffalo
120 Richmond Quad
Buffalo, NY 14261
Email: smitch@buffalo.edu

City College of New York (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The CCNY Suicide Prevention Project increases campus awareness of mental health problems, provides well-publicized mechanisms of referral, and integrated emergency and non-emergency approaches to suicide prevention as the college transitions to being partly-residential.

Psychological evaluations, risk assessment, and crisis intervention, will be offered at the residence hall on a walk-in basis and students identified as at risk will be actively responded to by clinicians and residence life staff. As a public, non-residential, commuter college of 12,000 students with a series of rigorous academic programs that attract high-achieving students of meager financial resources and ethnically and socio-economically diverse backgrounds, CCNY students face more pervasive stressors than most undergraduate institutions. Demographically, they are also less like1y to be diagnosed and treated for mental hea1th problems. Statistic& at the two campus mental health clinics indicate increasing rates of severe mental illness, depression, suicidal ideation, and serious plan and intent to commit suicide. In the past five years one CCNY student committed suicide at her home. CCNY students demonstrate significant, increasing need for psychological support. The presence of full-time residential students who will rely on the college for support make it imperative that CCNY develop a comprehensive response to student mental health needs to prevent campus suicide. The CCNY suicide prevention project comprises five interventions: the Crisis Response System that provides a protocol for immediate response to students who pose significant risk to themselves or others; the First Response Team, which is an residence hail screening clinic that provides evaluations to students on a walk in basis where their psychosocial needs are assessed, a psychological evaluation is administered, and where clinicians collaborate with the student to find an appropriate plan for ongoing support from psychological and social support services on campus and in student communities; Outreach Alert Workshops train residents and staff to recognize symptoms of mental and behavioral problems and refer them to support systems; the Student Monitoring System, is composed of members of the campus community trained to recognize and respond to students at risk of mental health problems whose referrals elicit active response by clinical or Residence Life staff to engage the student for support. Campus-wide campaigns will publicize the First Response Team and de-stigmatize mental health services.

New York State Page

Contact Information:
Pereta Rodriguez, DSW, LMSW
Director, Counseling and Wellness Center
City College of New York
Marshak Science Building, Room J-15
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031
Tel: 212-650-5915
Email: prodriguez@ccny.cuny.edu

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The Garret Lee Smith Memorial Campus Suicide Prevention Grant will fund five programmatic activities with the over-arching goal of identifying students who are at risk for suicide, and helping them obtain appropriate mental and behavioral health services. The diverse grant activities involve the entire campus community and incorporate a wide range of services and providers. The Gatekeeper Liaison Training Program will develop a formal infrastructure of faculty and staff to liaison with Counseling and Wellness Services (CWS) professionals in a community effort to decrease suicidal behavior. A "train-the-trainer" model will be utilized to extend the responsibility for students' psychological and physical well being on campus to non-mental health professionals who work with students in their natural environments. The S.U.P.E.R Peer Education Program will develop a cadre of students to provide educational presentations to other students oriented towards "helping a friend". The Web-based Information Program will expand existing web-based information on suicide prevention as part of a multimodal, multicultural approach to reach students, parents, faculty and staff with information on college student mental health issues, and resources for help. The E-Mail Mental and Behavioral Health Screening Program will target those students who may be reluctant to seek traditional psychological services, but may respond to offers of anonymous assessment and service on the internet. All undergraduate students will be contacted yearly, and offered the opportunity to complete an on-line screening instrument and have either in person, or on-line follow up with a therapist. The Parent Alliance Program will enhance CWS' relationship with parents of UNC-CH students - through presentations, newsletters, and web based information targeted to parent groups - to better utilize their extensive and unique knowledge of their children's mental and behavioral health vulnerabilities, and involve them as a first line of contact for their distressed children.

North Carolina

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

University of North Carolina - Greensboro (2008–2011)

Program Description:
The Friends Helping Friends program is designed to create a network of informed peers who are equipped to act as referral sources for students in need. Many factors - stress, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, transition issues, loneliness - that put students at risk for suicide or attempted suicide (Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2004) can be treated before the situation reaches the stage of suicide if students can be connected with available mental health services (Kadison, 2004). Unfortunately, 80-90% of college students who die by suicide do not seek help from their college counseling centers (Kisch, Leino, & Silverman, 2005) and only a minority of those at potential risk seek counseling services (Furr, Westefeld, McConnell, & Jenkins, 2001; Kisch et al., 2005). A recent study (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Gollust, 2007), for example, found that among college students who screened positive for depression or anxiety between 37% and 84% (depending on the disorder) did not seek services. Given the amount of time that students spend with friends, classmates, and fellow student organization members, peers represent an important and overlooked ally in campus prevention programs related to suicide and other mental and behavioral health issues. These students can act as reliable sources of mental and behavioral health information and help to humanize the help seeking process.

Contact Information:
Jeanne Irwin-Olson, M.Ed, RHEd
Project Director
Assistant Director for Wellness Programs
University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Student Health Services
007 Gove Student Health Center, Gray Drive
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Tel: 336-334-3079
Email: Jeanne_Irwin-Olson@uncg.edu

University of North Dakota (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The American Indian Suicide Prevention Program at the University of North Dakota (UND) is a two-phase program that will develop a circle of care model for suicide prevention. The first phase will be development and integration at UND and the second phase will be the application of the model to tribal colleges in North Dakota. The circle of care model provides linkages to and from the reservations and UND, to exchange information with the suicide prevention coordinators and IHS mental health contacts. The tribal contacts will inform the campus crisis team of traumatic events that occur on the reservations to activate campus support services. The crisis team reciprocates by relaying traumatic campus incidents to the reservations so families can provide support. A steering committee, consisting of the American Indian Crisis Team, project staff, UND officials, tribal liaisons, tribal college representatives and AI students from each ND reservation (and two at-large) will assist in the-development and future modifications, The model at UND will include education and training for: the crisis team members, interested community members, and American Indian students. The curriculum includes: identifying signs of suicidal behavior, developing skills to de-escalate situations, learning stress-reduction techniques and problem solving skills, and acquiring knowledge of resources and support services, such as counseling. The trainings, for AI students, will be incorporated into the currently-offered workshops and seminars about school success and student retention. The training material is from the LaFromboise Adolescent Life Skills Curriculum and will be adapted to be culturally appropriate for tribes in North Dakota. In addition, Mental Health First Aid training will be implemented in the campus community in year one of the project (and at tribal colleges in year two and year three). The Mental Health First Aid training was created specifically for the non-mental health professional to: recognize signs of mental health problems, de-escalate situations, assess risk for suicide, and help individuals' access resources while receiving emotional support. Personnel from the Center for Rural Health at UND will facilitate the training program. The University will offer unique cultural components to students who are in need of support by: creating a sweatlodge, offering ceremonial activities on campus, and providing access to a spiritual advisor as part of the circle of services. The project will be evaluated from three primary sources of data: interviews with the program staff, self-report data from students who have contact with the program, and demographic records. The intention of this evaluative process is to provide data that will facilitate improvement and revisions to the program by assessing how the program's processes work, and the impact it is having upon the students. The data collection and analysis of findings will be on-going throughout the years, and integrated within the standard functioning of the program. This formative evaluation will detail the refine the model, and make it applicable to other campuses.

Contact Information:
Jacqueline S. Gray
University of North Dakota
Box 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037
Email: jgray@medicine.nodak.edu

Ohio State University (2006–2009 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
The Ohio State University Campus Suicide Prevention Program (OSU-CSPP) will build on the strong foundation already in place to enhance and strengthen existing services for students while also creating new approaches to suicide prevention. A broad and diverse network of 72 campus and community partners is already committed to the project and will create a systematic and coordinated effort, where suicide prevention is seen as a shared campus responsibility. Major components include: (1) continued engagement with a broad and diverse group of campus and community partners; (2) collection and integration of new and existing data regarding suicide risk on campus; (3) development of coordinated policies and procedures for crisis management across university partners; (4) development of an extensive, culturally sensitive, and technologically advanced training system in suicide prevention; (5) use of technology and e-messaging, in addition to traditional formats, to expand suicide prevention education and anti-stigma campaigns to all students; (6) development of a Comprehensive Suicide Plan for OSU; and (7) dissemination of information to other campuses. The next phases are to: (1) formalize and operationalize the partner networks; (2) expand the project to include target populations and products; (3) refine the efforts to components with demonstrated effectiveness; and (4) institutionalize the efforts so they become part of the ongoing operation of the university and can be sustained.

Contact Information:
Wendy Winger
Program Manager
The Ohio State University
PAES Building, Room A445D
305 West 17th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Tel: 614-688-5829
Email: winger.16@osu.edu

Oklahoma State University - Okmulgee (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The Suicide Prevention Program at Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee, Oklahoma, is a proactive program designed to identify students who are at-risk and in need of behavioral health education support. To promote over-all effectiveness in improving quality of life, education will be implemented through the creation of a comprehensive public health approach that engages key players in the college and community agencies. A safety-net will be established by infrastructure building through implementation of the six allowable activities.

The operational goals of the Student Assistance Program are to:

• Provide educational and training services to the college community in areas of suicide awareness, substance abuse issues, interpersonal skills, group counseling, and stress management.
• Train and counsel student clients in effective techniques for managing stress, substance abuse issues, dysfunctional families, and peer relationships.
• Assist students in developing a positive self-concept.
• Train and counsel student clients in interpersonal skills.
• Provide an intervention service for those students who are identified as having substance abuse problems.
• Provide an intervention service for those students who are identified as having difficulties dealing with stress, dysfunctional families, peers, and personal and school related adjustments.
• Facilitate and promote long term counseling for students who are identified as being in need of such service.

The management goals of the Student Assistance Program are to:

• Develop and maintain links with appropriate outside agencies, which can assist in the delivery of program services.
• Organize and implement an effective internal referral system.
• Organize and implement an effective external referral system.
• Organize and manage a communication and record keeping system, which promotes and enhances a team approach to the operation of the program.

The program services are provided in four venues: educational services, intervention services, counseling services, and group services.

Contact Information:
Barbara Osborne
Project Director, Suicide Prevention Grant
Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee
Counseling and Access Services
1801 East 4th Street
Okmulgee, OK 74447
Tel: 918-293-4988
Email: barbara.osborne@okstate.edu

University of Oregon (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The Oregon University Suicide Prevention Project (OUSPP) represents a committed effort by a consortium of all eight public universities in Oregon to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, thereby reducing the incidence of suicide among the 81,242 students in the consortium's student population. The universities comprising this consortium have great need for suicide prevention programming. The OUSPP will increase awareness of suicide as a public health problem that is often preventable; increase the ability of faculty and staff to recognize and respond effectively to students at-risk of suicide; increase students' awareness of crisis line services and treatment resources; and provide training on effective clinical and professional practices in the area of suicide prevention. Other key activities in the Project include dissemination of educational materials to students, students' family members, faculty, and staff; provision of suicide risk assessment and intervention skills training for identified campus gatekeepers; implementation of triage forms in campus health centers that allow students at-risk to be identified and referred for treatment; and expansion of suicide prevention task forces on consortium campuses. The OUSPP will succeed in reaching its goals because of its significant human and financial resources. Counseling center directors have committed service hours from a total of 22 staff to the Project. These are staff that are already intimately familiar with student needs and campus resources.

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Blue Mountain Community College (2005–2008)

Program Description:
Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC), the only comprehensive community college in rural northeastern Oregon, plans to develop and establish a network-based infrastructure that supports suicide prevention awareness education and training for faculty, staff, students, and student families throughout the college's 18,000-square-mile service area. BMCC currently provides no health or mental health services for students except a part- time student counselor intern at the Pendleton campus. The urgency of addressing this critical institutional gap was made evident by BMCC's lack of preparedness when two students committed suicide during the 2003-04 academic year. The goal of this project is to infuse suicide prevention awareness and training throughout the college’' eight locations. The grant will support six primary activities: 1. Develop training programs for students and college personnel using external local resources available through partnerships such as the Umatilla-Morrow Counties' Emergency Response Crisis Management Coalition. 2. Solidify networks with local health care providers and integrate the network processes and services into an updated crisis response plan for the college. 3. Develop and implement educational seminars for students and staff. 4. Promote linkages to local hotlines and/or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 5. Prepare and disseminate informational materials that address warning signs and provide guidelines for referral and other responses. 6. Prepare educational materials for families of BMCC students.

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Bloomsburg University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The Comprehensive Campus Suicide Prevention (CCSP) project for Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania is designed to increase student, faculty, and staff awareness of suicide risk factors and signs of potential suicidal behavior in university students. The program will be directed at providing a wide range of educational programs for students, staff, faculty, and families of students as well as increased promotion of the available resources to help those students in need of help. Peer support programs will be developed with mechanisms such as telephone support and on-line support made available to help students' suffering from emotional problems or from situational/maturational crises. The program will be used to enhance and augment the current services available on the university campus, such as the campus Counseling Center, Student Health Services, and NAMI-on-Campus programs. It has long been recognized that many students do not actively seek help for mental health issues due to stigma, lack of knowledge, etc.

Our hope is that by initially preparing a core group of faculty, staff, and students trained as trainers in suicide prevention, we will then be able to conduct multiple educational offerings on campus through a wide variety of venues such as general education values classes, university seminars, freshmen orientation programs, faculty development programs, trainings for residence hall advisors and leaders of student organizations, etc. The primary goal of the project will be to educate everyone on campus (students, faculty, and staff) regarding suicide risk factors, ways to help the suicidal student access help, and provide support to both the individual who is engaging in self-destructive behaviors as well as for those who are trying to help. In addition, a more detailed suicide response plan will be developed for the university outlining the steps that need to be taken when a student is displaying behaviors indicative of suicide as well as what to do in the case of a suicide attempt or completed suicide. The plan will also address plans for post-suicide intervention services that will be used to help students, faculty, staff, etc. in the event of a completed suicide.

The CCSP will strive to incorporate the involvement of services and support from community agencies in and around Bloomsburg University, including The Bloomsburg Hospital which has a 20-bed inpatient mental health unit, CMSU Columbia/Montour/ Snyder/Union County Mental Health-Mental Retardation) program, NAMI- on-Campus, the local Mental Health Association, local providers of psychological and counseling services, as well as, the university's psychology and social work clubs and student nurses association. Outreach to areas in and surrounding the campus where students congregate such as local bars/restaurants, etc. will be part of the plan, as well.

Contact Information:
Linda Cook
Bloomsburg University
400 East Second Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Email: lcook@bloomu.edu

Pennsylvania State University - Altoona (2008–2011)

Program Description:
In response to the growing issues related to depression and substance abuse, the goal of Penn State, Altoona’s suicide prevention project will be to tighten the safety net already in place by enhancing existing programs and adding several innovative programs focusing on early identification of high-risk students and appropriate interventions. These approaches will benefit not only the target population of high risk students but the campus community at large.

This project will reflect issues of diversity and will seek to increase utilization of counseling services through coordinated activities and initiatives offered across campus to allow us to better reach all of our students. Specific suicide prevention objectives include the development of an internal mechanism for the identification and reporting of students in distress, training faculty and staff in the role of gatekeepers, and improving awareness of effective interventions and referral sources throughout the campus community. Two key innovative approaches include the development of an Early Alert system and a web-based training program. The Early Alert system allows for improvement in networking and collaboration in our efforts to identify students in distress, providing a mechanism for early intervention. The web-based training program for students, parents, faculty, and staff focuses on describing the impact of mental health issues on students and the campus community, identifying high-risk symptoms and behaviors, and providing suggestions to approach and refer students to appropriate campus resources.

Contact Information:
Joy Himmel, Psy.D
Penn State University-Altoona
3000 Ivyside Drive
Altoona, PA 16601
Tel: 814-949-5540
Email: jyh1@psu.edu

University of South Carolina (2006–2009 & 2006–2009)

Program Description:
Our project proposes to build campus partnerships with specific faculty, staff and student organizations to increase knowledge of suicidal issues, assessing student emotional symptoms, and referral skills. The specific target population is college freshmen because they are making the biggest transition to university life. They are a captive audience, 95% live in campus housing, and attention to their mental health is an investment that will accrue through their matriculation at the university.

Many students experience the transition of the security of the familiar life at home to unfamiliar university life as stressful and frustrating. Transitional issues include being away from the comforts and structure of home, negotiating new relationships, competing for grades, deciding on a major and career choice, as well as a myriad of other basic life decisions (when to sleep, how much to eat, drink, spend, etc.). This stress from these transitions and decisions can stimulate maturity, however it can become harmful when it is excessive and the student is not able to balance the new life style with existing personal and social resources.

The imbalance and stress can lead to feelings of overwhelming depression. Since college life is supposed to be the best years of one's life, for many students' depressive, anxiety, and other psychological symptoms often go unrecognized. Thus too many students never get referred for appropriate treatment. If untreated the depression may worsen leaving the student feeling more isolated and at risk for suicide.

South Carolina

Contact Information:
Barbara V. Sheridan, Ed.S.
Acting Project Director- Suicide Prevention Grant
University of South Carolina
Counseling and Human Development Center
Byrnes Building, 7th floor,
Columbia, SC 29208
Tel: 803-777-5223
Email: Sheridan@mailbox.sc.edu

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (2005–2008)

Program Description:
The goals of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (School of Mines) suicide prevention plan are to decrease the stigma and barriers to help-seeking behaviors for mental/behavioral health issues and increase overall mental health among students, thereby aiding the successful completion of their studies. The plan features three major components:

Prevention Education, Gatekeeper Intervention Training, and Assessment and Treatment. These components are aimed at reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors as they relate to suicidality. Prevention Education includes seminars targeted to the student. Seminars will address the risk factors and protective factors in smaller groupings of students to maximize interaction and reinforce a social support structure. Prevention Education will also include the development and dissemination of informational materials that address the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors of suicidal behavior as well as appropriate action steps for students to act upon for themselves or on behalf of fellow students. Informational material will also publicize a suicide hotline and be disseminated to students, students' families and staff. Gatekeeper Intervention Training will address mental/behavioral health problems, risk factors and protective factors and will instruct in the implementation of the crisis response protocol. The final component is the development of an Assessment and Treatment/referral system. Assessment of mental health and suicidal risk will be achieved through the suicide prevention office and will include pre- and post-treatment evaluations.

During the first year of the grant program, gatekeeper training materials were developed by the project coordinator based on the QPR model. Key staff received the training with pre and post tests to assess learning. Baseline data was collected for student behaviors with the CORE Survey. The first quarter of the second grant year was spent preparing the prevention workshops and delivering them to residence hall students. Also the gatekeeper training was expanded to faculty. Student referrals to counseling Services were screened for depression with Beck's Depression Inventory and tracked for progress.

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Vanderbilt University (2005–2008)

Program Description:
Vanderbilt University's Mental Health Awareness and Prevention of Suicide (MAPS) Project proposes to improve identification of and response to suicidality and its antecedents within the Vanderbilt student population. The major goals of MAPS have been to refine the current on-campus network of student services and to develop educational materials and programs for students, their families and campus personnel. By uniting and marshaling the existing expertise and know-how on campus, the project has developed a "Gatekeeper" training program for students and campus personnel that will allow for a more effective response to students with mental or behavioral health problems. The MAPS program will enhance the university community's knowledge on such issues as identifying risk factors for suicide, decreasing high-risk activities, promoting help seeking behaviors and providing easy access to such services. Additionally, MAPS provides web resources and linkage to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as part of the crisis response plan on campus. Community resources in the greater Nashville area that address suicide and mental health directly, the Jason Foundation, Tennessee Voices for Children (TVC) and the Tennessee Network for Suicide Prevention (TNSP), are assisting with the development of trainings and the implementation of MAPS at large.

The evaluation employs an open systems evaluation design (Cohen & Kibel, 1993), which facilitates "understanding the environment in which programs are implemented and tracking progress toward the achievement of specific program outcomes" (Julian, Jones & Deyo, 1995,p.334).

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

East Tennessee State University  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
East Tennessee State University, a rural institution, will develop and implement a campus suicide prevention plan called PEAKS – Prevention through Education, Awareness and Knowledge of Suicide. Program goals are to: 1) raise campus awareness about mental health issues, including stigma; 2) educate students, staff, and faculty to be suicide prevention gatekeepers; and 3) provide infrastructure and facilitate access to mental health services for distressed students. Populations of focus include first-generation students; first-year students; GLBT, minority and international students; military veterans; and fraternal and sorority groups. The project will strengthen existing campus service provider relationships into a cohesive suicide prevention network and provide the necessary training and educational materials to support prevention efforts. The program will also provide suicide prevention training to our campus, including QPR and Campus Connect and will develop curriculum to provide clinically-based, mentored training to Family Medicine residents and Clinical Psychology Ph.D. students.  Information and educational presentations and workshops focusing on the distressed rural student will include distance learning and tele-health products and linkage to local and national crisis lines.

Contact Information:
Jameson K. Hirsch, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
East Tennessee State University
P.O. Box 70649
Johnson City, TN 37614
Tel: 423-439-4463
Email: hirsch@etsu.edu

University of Tennessee - Knoxville (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The VolAware Suicide Prevention Initiative will target students with a mental health condition, students under 21, males, LGBT students, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. The activities will target the campus; however, media, the internet, and e-mail will allow social marketing messages and educational literature to reach parents/families, commuter students, and students studying abroad. Critical first responders and gatekeepers will be trained in QPR. The objective of the project will be achieved through six activities: (1) First Responder QPR training; (2) Gatekeeper QPR training, designed for those who can play a critical role in identifying and referring at-risk students, (3) in-service training to augment the knowledge and skills of mental health professionals on campus, (4) professional development training for University of Tennessee (UT) student affairs staff to build basic skills at identifying and referring at-risk students; (5) development and dissemination of informational literature for parents/families of UT students to educate them about mental health issues; and (6) a coordinated social marketing campaign targeted at undergraduate students’ preferred media (radio stations, campus newspaper, posters) with a goal of raising awareness, decreasing stigma, and promoting help seeking.

Contact Information:
Connie Briscoe, PhD
Assistant Director
Counseling Center
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
900 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-4250
Tel: 865-974-2196
Email: briscoe@utk.edu

University of Memphis  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The University of Memphis is an urban university in the mid-south with an enrollment of more than 21,000 students. Approximately 50 percent of the students are considered high-risk for behavior and mental health problems, including those associated with suicide and suicidal behavior. In response to an institutional assessment of campus resources and needs related to behavioral and mental health issues associated with suicide, the University of Memphis will implement Memphis STEPS2(Suicide Training, Education, and Prevention Services), a comprehensive and coordinated campus suicide prevention initiative. The program centers around: (1) educating students, faculty, staff and the broader university community (i.e., parents, families) about suicide, mental and behavioral health problems (e.g., depression and substance abuse) associated with suicide as well as prevention and intervention resources and services available within the university community to address these problems; (2) developing and implementing training in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals suffering with behavioral/mental health problems (e.g., suicidal ideation, depression) for various segments of the university community, including students enrolled in helping professions, such as nursing, clinical and counseling psychology; (3) evaluating the efficacy of the various educational and training activities, programs and services that will be offered as part of this initiative, in promoting mental health and preventing suicide on campus; and (4) developing an organizational structure that includes coordinated programs and services to sustain the initiative.

Contact Information:
Theresa Okwumabua, PhD
Project Director
Department of Psychology
University of Memphis
Psychology Building, Rm. 369
Memphis, TN 38152
Tel: 901-678-3677
Email: Tokwumab@memphis.edu

Texas College (2008–2011)

Program Description:
The Suicide Prevention and Crisis Response Management for Texas College project seeks to reduce the number of suicide attempts and deaths by suicide among first-generation college students and students of single parents at Texas College. This project has multiple components. First, we are creating a crisis response plan for responding to suicide attempts and deaths by suicide. Second, we are conducting the Suicide Prevention Exposure, Awareness, and Knowledge Survey. Third, we are developing and conducting educational seminars that include information on suicide prevention, identification of at-risk students, reduction of risk factors, depression, substance abuse, promotion of help-seeking behaviors, and stigma reduction related to care for mental and behavioral health. Fourth, we are creating a local college-based hotline and promoting linkages to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK). Finally, we are conducting a social marketing campaign that addresses warning signs of suicide, risk and protective factors, symptoms of depression and substance abuse, promotion of help-seeking behavior, and stigma reduction related to care for mental and behavioral health problems.

Contact Information:
Johnnye Jones, Ph.D.
Texas College
2404 North Grand Avenue
Tyler, TX 75702
Tel: 903-593-8311
Email: jjones@texascollege.edu

University of Texas - Pan American (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University of Texas-Pan American Fear Not Project is a collaborative comprehensive suicide prevention project involving Enrollment and Student Services and Academic Affairs.

This project seeks to dramatically increase awareness among students, families, faculty and staff of the risk of suicide among UTPA students. It will train significant numbers of students, faculty and staff to Question suicidal individuals, Persuade them to accept help and Refer them to appropriate resources (QPR Suicide Triage). It will also train professionals who evaluate and treat potentially suicidal persons in suicide risk detection, risk assessment and risk management (QPRT). The ultimate goal of the Fear Not Project is to create a network of gatekeepers who have the ability to detect risk and refer students wherever and whenever they find themselves in crisis.

The Fear Not Project will utilize a tiered approach to (1) raise awareness among entering freshmen and their families, (2) train gatekeepers to identify and refer students at-risk and (3) mandate therapy for students identified as severely at-risk or in imminent danger of harm to self or others. This tiered approach will allow a significant allocation of resources to raise awareness and a directed approach to provide intensive assistance to those most in need.

Contact Information:
Lise L. Blankenship
The Univ. of TX - Pan Amrcn
1201 W. University Dr.
Edinburg, TX 78541-2999
Email: Blankenship@utpa.edu

University of North Texas (2006–2009)

Program Description:
College and university campuses are critical for developing young people in today's society. Students coming to college at this time bring greater levels of emotional problems than five years ago and their emotional problems have grown more severe. Students are experiencing increased pressure to achieve and often have additional burdens interpersonally and financially. Depression and anxiety among students is more apparent than in the past. Minority populations are not exempt. African American and Latino young people are also suffering with depression and anxiety and are considering suicide are at a greater rate than ever before. Students who do not have effective strategies for managing increasing pressures of life may decide suicide is their only option. Research shows these students often do not seek treatment. College and university professionals have a responsibility to help college students identify and accesses resources to overcome what may appear to them-as insurmountable obstacles to moving effectively into adulthood. Identifying and assisting students who are depressed and considering suicide is key for colleges and universities. Developing individuals into effective contributing members of society with a wide variety of talents and ideas is the goal of suicide intervention. The QPR Gatekeeper approach works to develop students and staff by enhancing participants' ability to be more effective and proactive with persons in crisis. Participants are able to identify key indicators of suicide intention and develop skills to help a person receive care they need in a crisis. Leaders will develop more in depth skills to lead others in learning the process. Staff and faculty who are prepared effectively for a crisis situation can guide a student to receive assistance in overcoming crisis. Students themselves can learn how to help a friend. Gatekeeper training provides participants in a two hour format with warning signs and ways to assist a person who may be contemplating suicide. The ASIST Program for suicide intervention and prevention developed by LivingWorks, will add to the participants' knowledge and skill by directly addressing attitudes held considering suicide. LivingWorks pioneered inclusion of an attitudes component for participants to evaluate their own beliefs and attitudes about suicide. The extended educational approach is targeted towards staff, faculty, students in counseling and psychology and students who may lead two hour workshops in the future. Campus wide programming in the area of suicide prevention and intervention is a key approach to increasing knowledge and skill. Preventing suicide is the goal. Learning how to identify someone who is considering suicide and listening to the person are skills that will be developed. Through a campus wide network a safety net for students in crisis, can be built. Colleges' and universities' attention to the mental health of students encourages successful matriculation for all students.

Texas State Page

Contact Information:
Carolyn Kern
University of North Texas
PO Box 310829
Denton, TX 76203
Email: kern@unt.edu

University of Utah (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University of Utah (UU) Counseling Center plans to address suicide prevention by accomplishing the following goals: 1) improving on-campus gatekeeper skill in risk assessment and protective factor referral making; 2) measuring efficiency and quality of protective factor referral making on-campus; 3) developing online materials for target populations that address warning signs of suicide, address specific cultural related issues, promote help-seeking behavior, and reduce stigma associated with care seeking; 4) developing online materials for families of UU students that increase awareness of risk and protective factors for suicide; and 5) increasing UU student awareness and use of protective factors available on campus.

Commuter students, students living on campus in Residential Living facilities, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT ) students are the target populations chosen, based on survey data culled from two separate survey instruments administered on campus during the past year. The data indicate that these populations have high levels of risk factors associated with suicide.

Methods of achieving our goals include: Activity 1) gatekeeper training; Activity 2) creation of uniform forms for tracking and making protective factor referrals; Activity 3) content development for online materials for target populations; Activity 4) content development for online materials for families of UU students; and Activity 5) a professional promotion campaign.

While there are well-established clinical and emergency protocols for UU students in crisis, the campus community currently has no uniform suicide prevention training or response protocol for service delivery offices on campus. This project will help fill this critical gap in services. The Counseling Center is well positioned to conduct this project, using previous outreach work and coalition formation as a foundation. In 2000, Counseling Center and Office of Health Promotion staff formed the Wellness Network (Network) by inviting over 20 campus offices, departments, and groups to meet on a regular basis. The purpose of the Network is to improve communication between departments that serve students and coordinate and share resources, so that services will be provided more effectively, and redundancies and gaps in services minimized.

The Network has enjoyed successful interaction over the past five years and supports this application and proposed activities. Network members include a comprehensive group of UU student service providers: Academic Advising, Associated Student of UU, Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, Counseling Center, Dean of Students, Disability Services, Health Promotion and Education, International Center, Learning Enhancement Program, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center, and many others.

With historical success and effective inter-office collaboration as its foundation, this project and its proposed activities will reduce suicide and suicide risk factors by increasing the availability and accessibility of protective factors for UU students.

Contact Information:
Megan DuBois
University of Utah
Campus Wellness Connection
201 South 1460 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9061
Tel: 801-581-7778
Email: MDuBois@sa.utah.edu

Utah Valley University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Utah Valley University will undertake a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention on the campus with community gate keepers and stakeholders. The College has formulated its own conceptual model called 3Rs based on best practices to govern the project philosophy and implementation. Multiple strategies and activities will be implemented, targeted at both the general campus population and identifiable at-risk populations over a three year time period. Engagement of key players in the college community in planning, assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation will be incorporated. The Project Director and a campus-based mental health services team of professional advisors and task forces will lead and implement the project. The following allowable activities will be utilized: (1) Training Programs; (2) Networking (institutional and broader community); (3) Educational Seminars; (4) Local and College-based Hotlines; (5) Informational Materials; and (6) Educational Materials for Families and Students. The major goals of the project are centered and aligned on informing, engaging, training and educating the community in best practices aimed at improving early recognition, treatment, help-seeking, and consistent care for the at-risk student population. The UV-CSI project further incorporates a comprehensive ongoing process evaluation and annual self and external evaluations as integral components of the project.

Contact Information:
J.C. Graham, MSW
Project Director
Utah Valley University
800 West University Parkway MS-200
Orem, UT 84058
Tel: 801-863-6073
Email: grahamjc@uvu.edu

Lawrence University (2009–2012)

Program Description:
The two mutually reinforcing goals of the Lawrence University Campus Suicide Prevention Project (LUCSPP) are to (1) strengthen systemic and sustainable structures to effectively address the mental health needs of students particularly those at high risk; and (2) change campus culture to reduce stigma, reduce suicide risk factors, and promote awareness and use of mental health services. Our objectives are to: (1) implement project activities in a transparent and inclusive manner; (2) develop new and enhance existing training programs for campus personnel and students to recognize, respond to, and refer distressed students, support students affected by suicidal behavior of others, and respond in culturally competent ways; (3) strengthen internal and external networking infrastructures; and (4) develop comprehensive, culturally appropriate educational outreach approaches tailored to the unique needs of our campus. We will target the entire student body through comprehensive, culturally competent approaches that address risk factors and promote life skills, resiliency, and social connectedness, particularly among students from diverse sub-populations at higher risk. We will work with key community mental health stakeholders to identify common concerns and share suicide prevention efforts, particularly with other local college campuses; existing and potential partners in crisis prevention, intervention, and postvention; and other organizations serving at-risk youth and young adults.

Contact Information:
Kathleen Fuchs, PhD
Director
Counseling Services
Lawrence University of Wisconsin
P.O. Box 599
Appleton, WI 54912-0599
Tel: 920-832-6576
Email: kathleen.f.fuchs@lawrence.edu

College of Menominee Nation  (2009–2012)

Program Description:
College of Menominee Nation (CMN), a Tribal College in Keshena, Wisconsin, will develop a suicide prevention program and offer prevention services currently unavailable to our high-risk populations. CMN serves several high-risk populations, including Native Americans and Veterans. The CMN Suicide Prevention program will target all students at both its Keshena and Oneida campuses, approximately 1,000 students annually. The program will: (1) train faculty, administrators, advisors, tutors, and student workers to respond effectively to students with mental and behavioral health problems; (2) develop the infrastructure to connect CMN to local mental and behavioral health providers; (3) educate at least 150 students annually on suicide prevention, identification, and reduction of risk factors; and (4) increase the availability of suicide prevention information materials and resources on the CMN campuses.

Contact Information:
Gary Besaw, MS
Vice President
Student Services
College of Menominee Nation
P.O. Box 1179
Keshena, WI 54135
Tel: 715-799-5600
Email: gbesaw@menominee.edu

Marquette University (2006–2009)

Program Description:
Link for Life is a multidisciplinary collaborative effort of Marquette University faculty, staff, and administration. The program will focus on the issues of suicide and those mental health issues that impact suicide by providing suicide prevention training and education to staff and the general student body, as well as parents. Further, Link for Life will teach these individuals, as well as first responders, how to respond to people in a suicidal crisis.

As concerned university and community members, we recognize that suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students (retrieved May 10, 2006 from www.jedfoundation.org) and that many of these students do not get the necessary suicide prevention information. Although we value the goals and objectives of crisis intervention work, we realize that this alone will not educate the larger campus community or prevent further suicides. Therefore, the following goals and activities are proposed.

The chief purpose of Link for Life is to reduce suicidal behavior and ultimately save the lives of our students. The specific goals of this project are: 1) To raise awareness, across campus and among parents, about suicide among young people and to increase knowledge about mental illness, as well as the etiology, risk factors, and warning signs of suicide. 2) To use a nationally recognized suicide prevention model (Question, Persuade, Refer [QPR]) to train Gatekeeper Trainers who will provide QPR training to members of the campus and local communities, including first responders, students, and mental health providers. An emphasis will be placed on creating links within the campus community so that an individual faced with someone in a suicidal crisis knows the campus and community mental health resources well enough to make appropriate referrals to trained professionals. 3) To enhance partnerships between the university and its students, as well as community mental health providers. Link for Life is designed to decrease the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide by inviting the entire campus community and local community health and mental health provides to take an active role in suicide prevention. 4) To review existing intervention efforts employed on other campuses. Marquette University will use the information to develop appropriate policy and procedures, suited to this campus, that reflect best practices and standards of care in the area of suicide prevention. 5) To extensively evaluate the project under the guidance of a Project Evaluator to ensure the activities are as effective as possible and to reduce the potential loss of lives.

Wisconsin State Page

Contact Information:
Michael Zebrowski, Psy.D.
Counseling Center Director
Project Director
Marquette University
Holthusen Hall, Room 204
P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881
Tel: 414-288-7172
Email: michael.zebrowski@marquette.edu

University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
In 2005, the UW Oshkosh Counseling Center received the Garrett Lee Smith grant from SAMHSA to develop a Comprehensive Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Program, which fundamentally transformed the University's approach to students experiencing mental and behavioral health problems which lead to depression, substance abuse, suicide attempts and academic failure. This collaborative effort focused on better meeting the needs of at risk populations and for whom the nature of this campus creates barriers to accessing care.

In the past three years, UW Oshkosh has witnessed an increase in binge drinking and hospitalizations for mental health issues and alcohol abuse. The thrust of the current grant is to provide UW Oshkosh with the opportunity to expand on the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Program, to develop and implement the Center for Balance wellness program, to mobilize an Alcohol Task Force and to continue increasing the campus’ competency in working with distressed and marginalized students.

UW Oshkosh is at a critical point of beginning to internalize the mission of the grant into the university culture. There is still a need to develop a Clergy Network of local ministers and to increase collaboration with area hospitals to address continuity of care needs. These grant initiatives not only assist students to develop better coping skills, reduce substance abuse, and treat depression, but enhances student safety; and will make our students more academically successful and improve retention.

Contact Information:
Shelly Rutz, MSW, LCSW
Project Director
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
201 Dempsey Hall
Oshkosh, WI 54904
Tel: 920-424-7178
Email: rutzm@uwosh.edu

University of Wyoming  (2006–2009 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
The Enhanced University of Wyoming (UW) Lifesavers Initiative aims to prevent suicide and suicide attempts via a comprehensive, collaborative, and coordinated approach that consists of education, training, outreach, and support. Key components include: (1) a campus-community coalition and networking/infrastructure-building with Wyoming community colleges; (2) educational strategies targeting the entire UW population, particularly military reservists and veterans, and students and faculty in health sciences; and (3) gatekeeper trainings. The target populations for the Enhanced UW Lifesavers Initiative are gatekeepers. Specifically, efforts will be focused on training gatekeepers in the following areas: UW student population and particularly military reservists and veterans, students in pre-professional and professional health science majors (i.e. pre-med, nursing, pharmacy, medical), UW staff and health sciences faculty, and gatekeepers at Wyoming community colleges. Specific program strategies include: (1) development of a chapter of Active Minds, a student-led peer education and support program; (2) educational seminars and informational materials for students, staff, faculty, and families; (3) a social marketing campaign; (4) gatekeeper trainings; (5) a campus-community coalition; and (6) a conference for Wyoming community colleges.

Contact Information:
Lena Newlin, MPH, CHES
AWARE Coordinator
University of Wyoming
1000 East University Ave, Dept. 3708
Laramie, WY 82071-3708
Tel: 307-766-2187
Email: lnewlin@uwyo.edu

George Washington University (2005–2008)

Program Description:
To meet the major challenge of reaching students at risk for suicide but unknown to campus mental health agencies, the George Washington (GW) Counseling Center proposes to empower students through a multidimensional awareness/educational campaign; to build a web of supportive and skilled faculty, staff and student leaders through comprehensive training/consultative programs; and to sustain a caring community through enhanced identification, referral, and emergency services. GW will engage existing resources across campus to create a multifaceted approach to reaching at-risk students. Multiple media will be used to permeate the campus community with constructive messages each semester. Repetition within poster, flyer, newspaper, radio and electronic billboard publicity will be designed to create a strong positive connection with University Counseling Center (UCC) services. Key faculty, academic advisors, university police, residential life staff, student service staff, and student leaders will be trained to recognize symptoms of students in distress, to respond skillfully and to refer appropriately those students to campus resources. The intention and hope of this proposal is to reach GW students by providing education about mental health issues, empowering a web of community members to identify and respond to students in need, encouraging and supporting these students in taking responsibility for their mental health care by accessing appropriate services, and strengthening campus services to address perceived needs. Evaluation of this suicide prevention project will focus on the impact of the proposed interventions, both in terms of number of individuals meaningfully served as well as new learning and behavior resulting from project interventions.

District of Columbia State Page

For additional information on past grantees, contact Leah Horn at 617-618-2283 or by email at lhorn@edc.org

Howard University (2005–2008 & 2009–2012)

Program Description:
Howard University's (HU) Department of Psychiatry and the University Counseling Service have developed the Suicide Prevention Action Group (SPAG).  The overall goals of the project are to:  (1) maintain and support the increase in HU students' help seeking behavior; (2) decrease suicidal behavior among HU students at all levels of matriculation; and (3) decrease the stigmatization of mental health seeking behaviors against any HU student at risk of suicide. Project objectivesinclude: (l) to continue and maintain the training of campus wide personnel who interact with HU students who may be at risk for suicide; (2) to deliver effective training for all HU resident assistants (RAs) in campus dormitories and first responders in the HU Hospital, mainly nurses and emergency room staff; (3) to implement an on-line training curriculum for incoming freshmen that will be proceeded by semester long dormitory-based discussions led by the RAs; and (4) to improve SPAG's existing strategies of education and outreach to new and existing students, and their parents. Target audience for SPAG's campus-wide program will be all incoming first-year students, resident assistants, and HU Hospital nurses and emergency room staff.

Contact Information:
Donna Barnes, PhD
Department of Psychiatry
Howard University
2041 Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20060
Tel: 202-806-7706
Email: dbarnes@nopcas.org

Universidad del Turabo (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The Campus Suicide Prevention Program at Universidad del Turabo (UT) will include three (3) main activities: (1) the development of a systematic training program for student's organizational leaders, faculty, counselors, athletic coaches and security personnel; The development and implementation of an Institutional Crisis Response Plan, including networking infrastructure created to link the institution with health care providers from the external community; and, (3) Data collection of risk factors as identified by the administration of a validated screening test that will be used to develop statistics and informational material related to suicide and prevention strategies.

The purpose of the training program is to develop in institutional direct service personnel with the student population under 21 years of age the following:(1) increase the knowledge concerning mental health and behavioral conflicts; (2) strengthen the ability to recognize and identify high risk behaviors in freshmen students; and, (3) promote the ability to respond effectively and make the necessary referrals for direct services as appropriate. An additional training to administer a screening test will be given to a selected group of counselors, social workers and faculty of the Psychology Department and various units of the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UT.

The Institutional Crisis Response Plan will improve the current UT services for students with suicide ideations and attempts creating a formal process to attend campus suicide attempts. By establishing the community links with mental health care agencies, UT will be able to provide broader alternatives for student referrals.

Suicide on the UT campus remains a poorly understood event since statistics are limited, risk factors are diverse and more effective intervention techniques and research is needed. This project will permit data collection on suicide risk factors and the identification of effective institutional resources in suicide prevention management. This will also augment the opportunities for data collection among an Hispanic population that can be fully integrated into statistics compiled by the Suicide Prevention Evaluation Contractor of SAMSHA.

Informational material on suicide prevention and risk factors based on the statistical data generated will be prepared and distributed among UT students. The material will include mental and behavioral problems that can lead to depression, substance abuse, and suicide ideation or attempts. Also, plans and alternatives for accessing emergency care within the institution and the broader community will be provided.

Puerto Rico State Page

Contact Information:
Maria Lopez
Universidad del Turabo, SUAGM
State Rd. 189, Km. 3.3
P.O. Box 3030
Gurabo, PR 00778-3030
Email: malopez@suagm.edu

University of Puerto Rico - Cayey (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey proposes a program to develop a comprehensive support network and college action plan for attending potential and serious cases of suicide. The focus of this program entails training through workshops and information materials for the campus body, in its informational aspect and a smaller number in direct services. Also, a comprehensive network strategy will be implemented through a crisis hotline and a referral program.

The UPR-Cayey, one of the 11 units of the Puerto Rico state university system, accepts only well-qualified students in the natural and social sciences, the humanities, education, and business administration. Although academically well-qualified, a large percentage of these students are academically unsophisticated. Many of them are first-generation college students, some from rural and semi-rural backgrounds, most of them low-income, and 90% from a seriously deficient public school system. This creates a situation of great stress for those who don't immediately catch on to the college environment. Although extensive formal studies have not been undertaken, the sample of those attended by the part-time psychologist indicates that there is a high rate of depression and incipient mental and behavioral health problems in the group that leaves and even in the group that stays. Although suicide has not been a problem, per se, among the college's student body, there is reason to believe that these conditions could easily lead to suicides later in life if these youngsters do not learn to deal with frustration and depression more effectively at this stage in their lives. One reason to think this is the very high rate of suicide, problem behaviors, and outright violence. Puerto Rican society, generally lauded for its human warmth, is also ironically characterized by one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption, domestic violence, homicides, and suicide under the American flag, and in some cases (alcohol consumption) in the world.

The project will be implemented over three years, beginning with a basic and direct approach, with training and preparation of inventories of resources, to the creation of more student-focused informational materials and more elaborate presentations, culminating in efforts to document success for institutionalization and replication. The expected results of the program calendar will be the guide to both process and outcome objectives to be assessed. The evaluation will include quantitative measures on how many individuals in each category were reached by the program's efforts and qualitative measures on how they react.

Contact Information:
Maria D. Fernandez
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey
Ave. Antonio R Barcelo 205
Cayey, PR 00736-9997
Email: mfernandez@cayey.upr.edu

University of Guam (2005–2008 & 2008–2011)

Program Description:
The University of Guam's Isa Psychological Services Center in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences will further develop and institutionalize a sustainable Campus Suicide Prevention Program addressing student suicide risk through training programs, linkages with community mental health care providers, educational seminars, linkages to local and national crisis hotlines, and informational materials for students and their families.

The program will address student suicide risk through six activities: 1) Further development and institutionalization of training programs for student leadership and University personnel to respond effectively to students with mental and behavioral health problems that can lead to suicide and suicide attempts; 2) Institutionalization of a networking infrastructure linking the University with community-based mental health care providers so as to enhance the University’s ability to provide culturally competent mental and behavioral health services to students; 3) Expansion and institutionalization of an educational seminar series providing information on suicide prevention, risk factors, help seeking, and stigma reduction; 4) Further development and promotion of linkages to Guam’s local crisis hotline and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, including integration of these hotlines into the University’s crisis response plan; 5) Further development of informational materials that address suicide warning signs, risk and protective factors, appropriate actions to help students in distress, symptoms of depression and substance abuse, help seeking, and stigma reduction in a manner congruent with the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the target population; and 6) Further development of informational materials designed to educate students’ families about suicide risk factors and suicide prevention.

Contact Information:
Iain K. B. Twaddle, PhD
Program Director
I’Pinangon, University of Guam Campus Suicide Prevention
University of Guam Station
Mangilao, GU 96923
Tel: 671-735-2882
Email: itwaddle@uguam.uog.edu

Home | About SPRC | Featured Resources | State Information | American Indian / Alaska Native | Colleges & Universities | SPRC Training Institute
Suicide Prevention Basics | Taking Action | News | Site Map | Terms of Use for Site Content

The SPRC is supported by a grant (1 U79 SM57392-05) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). No official endorsement by SAMHSA or DHHS for the information on this web site is intended or should be inferred.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) is a project in EDC’s Health and Human Development Division
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458 877-GET-SPRC (438-7772), info@sprc.org




Copyright © 1994-2009 Education Development Center, Inc. All Rights Reserved.