The “We Are One Albany State University (ASU)” project seeks to develop a multi-disciplinary team of students, faculty, staff, administrators and community partners to develop the infrastructure for suicide and substance use prevention and increase the system capacity to enhance and sustain effective prevention programs and services which support SAMSHA’s Strategic Initiative of increasing awareness and understanding mental and substance use disorders. ASU is a Historically Black Institution (HBCU) located in rural Southwest Georgia. In December 2016, the University System of Georgia granted approval for the creation of the new ASU from the consolidation of Albany State University an HBCU and Darton State College (DSC) an institution with an access mission, effective January, 2017. The Fall 2017 enrollment for ASU was 6615 of which 71.1% were females, 70% were African Americans, 2.4% were Hispanics, 22% were Caucasians, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 1.4% were multiracial; 0.3% were American Indian/Alaska Native and 2.9% did not report their race/ethnicity. A majority of students are first-generation learners, 54% lived on campus and 97% received some form of financial aid. The average age for undergraduates is 23.8. (BOR, 2017). About 5% of the student population is active duty military personnel, veterans or families of veterans. The goals of the project are: (1) create comprehensive infrastructure and collaborative networking; (2) increase knowledge of prevention of suicides, mental and substance use disorders; (3) promote help-seeking behaviors and reduce stigma and negative public attitudes towards mental health; and (4) create a campus community “We Are One ASU,” where the ommunity is engaged in assuring that each student experiencing mental distress is identified, screened and referred. The project will serve participants by offering training, programs and activities related to mental and substance use disorders and offer information on campus and community mental health resources. The project will provide direct training for at least 500 students and 50 key stakeholders each year and provide other programs, activities and services to at least 1000 students and other stakeholders each year for a total of at least 4650 participants over the life of the grant. The project activities will include: (1) create a Suicide Prevention Coalition of ASU and community partners; (2) offer activities, trainings and programs to prevent substance abuse disorders; (3) offer culturally appropriate training program (Kognito and QPR) to reduce stigma associated with seeking care; (4) reevaluate the present crisis response plan to accommodate the needs of the new ASU; and (5) distribute culturally appropriate informational materials that address warning signs of suicide, describe risk and protective factors, and identify appropriate actions to take when a student is in distress. The project will ensure that the needs of students at high-risk including, but not limited to LGBT, military family members and veterans are met.
Grantee Categories: Garrett Lee Smith Campus
University of Wyoming
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.
University of Oregon
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.
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (UA) Campus Health Service (CHS), in collaboration with a wide variety of campus and community partners, proposes a comprehensive suicide prevention strategy to reduce suicidal ideation, attempts, completions and related risk factors such as substance use and depression among UA students with a special emphasis on high-risk student populations (LGBTQ students, veterans, military family members, Native Americans). To reach this goal, the following objectives will be addressed: (1) Increase (10%) knowledge, comfort level and willingness to respond effectively to students with mental and/or behavioral health problems; (2) increase (5%) awareness and utilization of campus and community resources that can identify, assess and treat mental and behavioral health problems; (3) increase (5%) help seeking for mental and behavioral health problems; (4) decrease (5%) risk factors such as depression and substance abuse; (5) decrease (5%) suicide attempts and (6) institutionalize effective program components and disseminate information at the local, state and national levels.
Located in Tucson, UA is a large public institution (over 38,000 students) about 70 miles from the US/Mexico border. Over 35% of the student population is from an ethnic/racial minority with 3% being Native American. Significant problems of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and mental health issues among students have been documented on annual campus surveys since 1995. On the 2010 survey (n=2931), 40% had engaged in heavy episodic drinking in the past two weeks, 34% had used marijuana in the past year, 12% had used pain pills and 9% had used sedatives not prescribed to them. While 11% had been diagnosed with depression and 11% with anxiety, 25% indicated that anxiety or depression had made it somewhat or very difficult to work, study, go to class or get along with people. Data from UA Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) triage forms for 2010 indicates that 63% of students seeking services said they were depressed, 31% felt isolated/withdrawn and 70% said they had anxiety. These risk factors indicate the strong need for comprehensive suicide prevention on campus.
To address the objectives, the team will utilize gatekeeper training to 550 individuals/year, educational presentations and curriculum infusion to a minimum of 400 individuals/year and campus-wide efforts such as student driven activities and media (videos, posters, pamphlets, articles) with the potential to be seen by most students (38,000), as well as local, state and national dissemination (presentations, technical assistance and publications).
To evaluate these efforts, data will be collected on: (1) increases in knowledge, willingness and comfort to intervene among training participants (pre/immediate/3-month post); (2) increased utilization of resources (CAPS triage); (3) increased help seeking (annual campus-wide student survey, presentation pre/immediate posttests); (4) decreased risk factors and suicide attempts among the general student population (annual campus-wide student survey, campus suicide data) and (5) increased collaboration/dissemination at the local, state and national levels.
Stony Brook University
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.
Purdue University
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.
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a four-year state assisted regional university. We currently have approximately 7,000 students. This size of campus offers great opportunities for students to succeed socially, as well as academically. With a student to teacher ratio of 21 to 1, you never feel like a number and receive personalized attention from faculty. Our mission statement is, Northwest Missouri State University focuses on student success – every student, every day. For more information go to: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/aboutus/mission.htm
The Northwest Suicide Prevention Project: Project Hope is bringing together faculty, staff, and students at Northwest to reduce suicide and suicide-related behaviors and to promote positive mental health for everyone. The support has been tremendous, and we are making progress to create an even stronger campus culture where all students can flourish. We are currently in our No-Cost extension.
Considering sustainability of our program, we have identified six areas and activities that we would like to have remaining after the grant period. These fall in line with the original goals set forth in our grant. These six items will continue to 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 items are as follows:
- Continue Life skills presentations
- Trainings for Students faculty and staff – online and in person – Continue to increase the % of students who have received in person training or are willing to complete online suicide prevention training.
- BIT team continuation, support from the university and collaboration with the community
- Educational and promotional items so students, faculty and staff know Project Hope/Suicide Prevention programming exists at Northwest
- Continue to increase % of students seeking assistance for suicidal thoughts/attempts.
- Student Involvement through TWLOHA, Peer Ed and other Student Organizations
We have had great success in training students, faculty and staff, since the inception of our SAMHSA grant. We have established everlasting relationships with other departments to help with sustainability after our funding is complete. Through the advisory board we have been able to develop, sustainability will truly be a reality. We have learned that sustainability is an important aspect of the project from the beginning. Additionally, developing a consistent message for the entire campus community to buy into has been important. Student involvement has been a key element to the success of our grant through programming and feedback. We are more than willing to share with others any experiences and lessons learned during the grant period.
Monmouth University
Promoting Wellness and Resiliency on Campus at Monmouth University is a university and community partnership program whose purpose is to enhance prevention, identification, and service utilization for all students, particularly those with mental and behavioral health problems which elevate their risk for suicide ideation, attempts and completions.
The program is targeted to the entire student population at Monmouth University. Through a series of activities and programs, the University will enhance its established infrastructure and community partnerships with a public awareness campaign and education/ training targeted at individuals poised to respond and prevent student suicide at the university via universal, selective and indicated prevention. By the end of the grant, it is expected that over 700 gatekeepers and providers and the student body of 6,400 will be offered training in mental health and suicide awareness, identification and referral/help-seeking and exposed to public awareness messages.
Goal 1: To improve identification and referral of students at risk.
Objective 1: Increase number of adult gatekeepers who are trained and knowledgeable in mental health and suicide prevention and assessment
Objective 2: Increase number of student gatekeepers trained and knowledgeable in mental health and suicide prevention and assessment
Objective 3: Increase the knowledge of mental health and suicide risk among gatekeepers
Objective 4: Increase the knowledge of mental health and suicide risk among students
Objective 5: Implement SPRC’s Interactive Suicide Program with a sub-group of freshman
Goal 2: Improve help-seeking of students at risk for suicide
Objective 2.1: Increase collaboration among campus and community partners to deliver the message that suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility
Objective 2.2: Reduce stigma for seeking care for mental and behavioral health issues among students
Objective 2.3: Increase visibility of National Suicide Prevention Lifeline hotline numbers
Goal 3: Improve the mental health services available for students at risk for suicide
Objective 3.1: Increase on- and off- campus clinicians knowledge of mental health and suicide awareness
Objective 3.2: Increase on- and off- campus clinicians ability to assess and refer youth at risk for suicide to mental health treatment
Objective 3.3: Increase on- and off-campus clinicians’ knowledge of and effectiveness in implementing a safety plan for youth at risk for suicide.
Objective 3.4: Increase on- and off-campus mental health therapists in knowledge and utilization of CBT for depression and suicide prevention
Goal 4: Follow crisis management procedures.
Objective 4.2: Monmouth Medical Center Crisis line to become a National call center.
Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College’s ASAP (Access to Suicide Awareness and Prevention) Program will provide suicide awareness and prevention activities across all eight of the college’s campuses, reaching its diverse population of more than 164,000 students. As the largest and most diverse college in the nation, Miami Dade College, located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, has designed the ASAP Program with the overall goal of preventing substance abuse and mental illness and reducing the risk of suicide attempts and completions. In its first year, through community collaborations, the program will create a network infrastructure that can meet the needs of students with behavioral health issues. In addition, a core group of 20 faculty and staff will be trained as QPR Gatekeeper Trainers. Through these two primary implementation year activities, a foundation will be established for the substantial scale-up of the program in following years. In the second year, over 15,000 students, their families, friends, and faculty and staff will be reached, including 400 faculty and staff who will receive gatekeeper training. An additional 15,000 persons will be reached in the program’s third year through the continuation of educational seminars, distribution of information, promoting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and campus-specific activities to raise awareness.
The ASAP Program’s objectives are to develop college-wide policies that support suicide prevention programs with a direct link to the College’s current behavioral threat assessment; reduce the stigma associated with mental health and behavioral health issues college-wide in a culturally competent manner and reaching special populations; and to promote help seeking among those at-risk, as well as increasing the knowledge base of the college community to facilitate awareness and early identification of mental and behavioral health issues. All of the program’s activities have been formulated to meet the needs of the commuter college aspect of Miami Dade College and to provide flexibility in implementation across the institution’s eight campuses, which each have a uniquely diverse student population makeup. By the end of the grant period, the ASAP Program will be fully sustainable and institutionalized for the benefit of future Miami Dade College students, their families, friends, and the overall community.
Connecticut College
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.