SPRC Home> SAMHSA Grantees> Campus Grantees Descriptions

Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program Descriptions

View Grantees | All Grant Descriptions

Mississippi State University - Meridian (2006–2009)

Program Description:
The MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program proposes to implement substance abuse/depression/suicide campus screenings and suicide prevention workshops to faculty, staff, and students. Program aims to reduce mental health stigma, promote conducive help-seeking attitudes, early identify at-risk students, and facilitate referral to the campus's EAP mental health provider prior to development of suicidal ideation, planning, and behaviors.

Currently, the Mississippi State University (MSU)-Meridian Campus (commuter campus with 70% non-traditional students) students have limited access to MSU-Starkville's counseling center (100 miles between campuses) and community mental health services (limited health insurance and/or mental health coverage) to meet their mental health needs. A positive byproduct of this project is that the MSU-Meridian Campus has agreed to contract with a local EAP provider (Community Mental Health Services) so that MSU-Meridian students and their families have access to unlimited mental health services (free of charge for all part-time and full-time enrolled students). However, the faculty, staff, and students still lack the awareness of suicide and mental health issues that would facilitate early identification of at-risk students and appropriate referral for mental health services. Furthermore, mental health stigma and non-conducive help-seeking attitudes of faculty, staff, and students must be addressed to ensure the success of our campus suicide prevention program. Thus, the MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program aims to offer suicide prevention and conducive help seeking workshops to faculty, staff, and students so to early identify those students at-risk prior to the development of suicidal ideation, planning, and behaviors (attempts and completions). One of the primary barriers to implementation of the MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program is how to delivery many small group workshops to a 723 student campus and reach the vast majority of students. The MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention program plans to develop a text-based version of the suicide prevention and conducive helping seeking workshop and place it on the campus's suicide prevention website page (which will be developed). Additionally, the MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program's workshops for MSU-Meridian students will be delivered by MSU Meridian Counselor Education graduate students trained in suicide prevention/intervention, depression awareness, substance abuse awareness, promoting help-seeking behavior, and reduction of mental health stigma. All MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program workshops (for MSU-Meridian students) will be supervised (and co-facilitated) by a MSU Meridian Counselor Education graduate faculty member.

The MSU-Meridian Campus Suicide Prevention Program aims to improve faculty, staff, and students' attitudes toward help-seeking (mental health) and translate that into an increase in mental health referrals of at-risk students by faculty, staff, and fellow students to the EAP mental health provider (mental health usage).

Contact Information:
Darren A. Wozny
Mississippi State University
1000 Highway 19 North
Meridian, MS 39307
Email: dwozny@meridian.msstate.edu

View SPRC's Mississippi State Information Page