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Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program Descriptions

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University of Massachusetts - Amherst (2006–2009)

Program Description:
We will work with Syracuse University, recipients of CSPG funding, to adapt their gatekeeper training and build our capacity to deliver it to core campus constituencies: Residence Life, Campus Police, Dean of Students Office, athletics staff, student support services staff, mental health and primary care staff. Some Mental Health staff will participate in AAS Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk: Workshop for College and University Counseling Center Staff. Early recognition and intervention are crucial to our campus suicide prevention efforts. By early recognition, we can reduce self-destructive behavior, reduce risk for completed suicide and, by identifying students at risk, maximize their mental health and their ability to benefit from the educational opportunities available in our university community. Given the large community that we serve and our geographically large and rural campus, it is critical that we have gatekeepers in multiple arenas of the campus who are trained around early identification and referral. Training programs and educational seminars will be provided for key constituents:

Residence Life

Training will begin with a kick-off Event that will bring various constituencies on campus together in the fall of 2006 to build awareness of suicide prevention on campus. Activities include providing a 1-2 hour focused training for Residential Assistants as potential frontline gatekeepers and a 2.5 hour suicide prevention training curriculum to other identified campus constituents. Specific activities include training of select Mental Health staff who already have significant experience with suicidal behavior in the Gatekeeper Training curriculum developed by staff at Syracuse University and training of all mental health staff to build capacity for the assessment and management of mental health. The one-day training curriculum for mental health professionals focuses on competencies that encompass clusters of knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes or perceptions required for people to be successful in their work.

Massachusetts State Page

Contact Information:
Harry Rockland-Miller
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
University Health Services
Amherst, MA 01003
Email: rockmill@uhs.umass.edu

View SPRC's Massachusetts State Information Page