Grantee Types: Garrett Lee Smith Campus

Suicide on campus is behavioral health concern that University administrations all over the country are concerned about.  At Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) the suicide prevention and mental health awareness initiatives are at place but they are not well linked in a referral network. Students, during behavioral health crisis, often seek out services from the providers in the community that the University-based providers either do not get to know or get to know at a much slower pace. As the University student population is diversifying as more student veterans and students with LGBTQ sexual orientation increasing on campus new section specific approach needs to be added to the suicide prevention infrastructure. The proposed approach relies on the tenet that it takes a village to create a zero suicide culture in college campuses. And by “village” it signifies a more cogent and effective University-community partnership. The idea of a campus is no longer restricted to a specific geographic entity, rather the social media and off-campus residences of students, non-traditional students and veteran students have brought the community into the concept of “campus”, hence any proposed planning need to take that into consideration. SIUC, thus, seeks to increase collaboration between campus and community mental health providers to establish a workable crisis response protocol so that the University could learn and address warning signs of suicidal ideation and mental health stature of its students across different segments of health care providers network. The objective 8.1 of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention espouses on maintaining a zero suicide tolerance motto that this proposed model plans to adopt for SIUC. The zero suicide approach spreads the onus of suicide prevention beyond the gatekeepers of the University to families, peers, clinicians and the community at large. The mission of the new approach will take an ambitious leap from the current approach by treating suicides of students on campus as a “never event”. This approach could be achieved not only by proposing all new programs, but organizing the existing ones strategically and proposing new programs to enhance the existing ones. Below is a detailed list of goals and objectives:  

• Goal # 1: To establish a protocol to facilitate University-Community partnership and collaboration on suicide prevention

• Goal # 2: To provide faculty, staff and student with resources to become emergent gatekeepers of suicide prevention

• Goal # 3: To provide an easily accessible one stop information warehouse of campus suicide prevention resources

• Goal # 4: To promote national suicide hotline number on campus

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Initiative to Create Awareness, Recognition, and Education (iCARE) on suicide prevention project aims to significantly impact student, faculty, and staff recognition of risks for and behaviors of a student contemplating suicide. This will be accomplished by a) direct involvement of student organizations and leadership in developing outreach strategies, b) identification and deployment of best available training and assessment methods, c) collaboration with community partners on programming decisions, policies, and management plans, and d) outcomes assessment to guide future resources and focus.

The SIUE iCARE suicide prevention project considers all students, faculty, staff, and student families as crucial partners in the identification of students at risk for suicide. As such, the iCARE training strategy will extend beyond the typical “mental health gatekeeper” target audience. We aim to generate interest and ownership among identified student leaders and organizations with the goal of these student advisors encouraging completion of training materials among their respective constituencies. These student leaders will be invited to serve in an advisory capacity for the iCARE project thus strengthening their accountability in deploying the message and training on suicide prevention.

Unfortunately, capturing the attention and interest of university students is difficult at best. We propose an aggressive campaign, partnering with campus marketing and communications, internal student organizations and stakeholders, and strategic external partners to achieve significant brand recognition, outreach, and willingness to complete the iCARE training program and assessment. Our outreach efforts will include micro-videos, social media blitz, smart phone / tablet application development, and campus signage. A strong representation of internal and external stakeholders will be assembled to serve on the iCARE Executive Council. These stakeholders, including campus mental health services, administration, police, faculty with mental health expertise, and external organizational leadership, will help guide the student advisory panel in selection or development of training materials, outreach messaging, and the development of currently lacking standardized data capture and risk management plans. This leadership council for the project will be transitioned to a standing university committee under the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs following completion of the project.

While our primary outcome is certainly to prevent deaths by suicide, secondary outcomes include increased help seeking by students as evidenced by SIUE Counseling Services intake completion and appointments, web-traffic at SIUE informational pages, increased completion of student of concern confidential submissions, development of sound policies and procedures for assisting students at risk, and ultimately, percent of student body trained in suicide prevention.

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.

The Sierra College Suicide Prevention Program reflects a comprehensive and sustainable approach to effectively address student mental health/substance use disorders that can lead to suicide and suicide attempts. The goal is to prevent suicide and promote mental wellness by creating a caring, inclusive and knowledgeable  campus community that reaches out to distressed students, alleviates barriers to help-seeking, and facilitates access to culturally and linguistically appropriate resources. Emphasis is based on high-risk groups including student veterans and military family members, lesbian/gay/bisexual/ transgender/intersex/queer students (LGBTIQ) and American Indian/Alaska Native students (AI/AN). Located in Placer County, California, Sierra College serves 19,000 students enrolled at the Rocklin main campus/Roseville center and at campuses in Grass Valley and Truckee, California. Enrollment includes an estimated 750 veterans, 1500 LGBTIQ students, and 600 AI/AN students. In recent decades, the region has experienced explosive growth in population and noticeable increases in ethnic diversity. Student ethnicities include: Black (4%), AI/AN (3%), Asian/Filipino/Pacific Islander (8%), Hispanic-Latino (12%), White (70%) and other (3%). In a Fall 2013 survey of Sierra College students, 25.2% reported experiencing stress to the point where grades suffered, followed by anxiety (15%), depression (12.2%), alcohol (4.8%), and drug use (4.8%). In addition, 6.4% reported self-injury, 12.4% seriously considered suicide, and 3.1% attempted suicide. Regrettably, four Sierra College students have died by suicide in the last four years, including a veteran and a LGBTIQ student. In an effort to address student need, the program’s proposed objectives and strategies include: 1) enhancing employee awareness of mental health and substance use disorders that can lead to suicide by providing flex workshops, training, and online training/resources; 2) expanding student peer-to-peer resources, including a “Train the Trainer” program for Peer Leaders and a for-credit class to train future Peer Mentors; 3) increasing student awareness through Peer presentations and online resources, e.g. Kognito; 4) enhancing parent and community awareness by sharing information at Parent Nights/Orientations and by offering “Mental Health First Aid” training; 5) Strengthening network infrastructure by creating a Mental Health Council and expanding the Mental Health Advisory Group of community partners; and 6) strengthening internal infrastructure by developing District and campus-specific policies and protocols for Crisis Response and its aftermath. Each year and thereafter, the program will serve approximately 3000 individuals through training and online resources. Anticipated outcomes include: earlier identification of distressed students, increase in help-seeking behaviors, improved access to appropriate College and community resources, and ultimately, fewer suicides and suicide attempts.

The purpose of SAIC CARES is to establish a formal, comprehensive, and responsive suicide prevention program at the school of The Art Institute of Chicago. SAIC CARES intends to build upon our experience in previous national collaborative efforts to deal with depression and substance abuse on campus to initiate proactive and innovative efforts to engage the SAIC community in the identification of students at-risk of self-harm and other adverse consequences of untreated illness. The goals of SAIC CARES are to 1) increase early identification of at-risk students, 2) to increase the help-seeking behavior of clinically depressed and anxious students, and 2) to develop a state-of-the-art case and care management-based tracking and surveillance system for students who have experienced severe mental illness and/or significant psychiatric crises/emergencies. To meet these goals SAIC CARES will utilize a multi-faceted approach that will include training SAIC community members in Mental Health First Aid and a Dance/Movement-based suicide prevention program, providing to SAIC students a web-based self-help program for depression, THRIVE, that teaches skills from cognitive-behavioral therapy, instituting care management functions within Student Affairs, participating in the annual Healthy Minds study, and engaging parents of new students with pre-existing mental health problems through the development of education materials and a summer webinar.

Santa Monica College’s (SMC) Suicide Prevention Initiative will strengthen institutional capacity to deliver suicide prevention activities campus wide, while raising awareness of mental health issues among students, faculty, and staff. Through the development of a comprehensive suicide prevention plan that includes gatekeeper training, peer education and support, and a postvention plan, SMC will reduce risk factors associated with suicide and promote positive mental health.

This initiative will engage the entire college community, but will provide specific services for student groups most at-risk of suicide, including student veterans, students who identify as a sexual minority, and students who are, or once were, in foster care, while raising awareness of mental health issues among students, faculty, and staff. Building upon existing resources and relationships with programs both on and off campus, SMC will:

1. Improve program coordination to develop and implement suicide prevention strategies, support student mental health and employ postvention services;
2. Increase capacity of gatekeeper staff to recognize risk factors associated with suicidal ideation and provide appropriate intervention and referral services;
3. Reduce the stigma attached to mental illness and increase the likelihood that struggling students will access supportive services; and
4. Increase awareness of the needs and concerns of LGBTQ students and expand resources to support these students.

These objectives will be accomplished through 1) the development of a Suicide Prevention Plan that includes a postvention plan; 2) suicide prevention training for all gatekeeper personnel, as well as other faculty and students, using nationally recognized curricula; 3) development of a Peer Educators group that will implement mental health awareness activities for students, faculty, and staff, including a Mental Health Awareness Week; and 4) a campus-wide media campaign that will raise awareness of suicide warning signs, risk and protective factors, campus resources, and activities that promote mental health.

This grant will be administered by SMC’s Office of Psychological Services, which works closely with many groups, both on and off campus to address the mental health needs of SMC students. Primary partners will include SMC’s Crisis Prevention Team, the SMC Police Department, and SMC’s Veterans Resource Center. Off campus partners will include Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, US Vets, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

Through its Suicide Prevention Program, the Mental Health Counseling Center (MHCC) at San Diego City College (SDCC) seeks to prevent suicide and suicide attempts, reduce stigma surrounding mental illness, foster help seeking behavior, and increase students’ access to treatment. SDCC, a designated Hispanic-serving institution, is unique in that it serves disproportionately high populations of LGBT students, veterans/military, and ethnic minorities. Although MHCC has successfully established the framework for this program, funding is required to formalize infrastructure, fill significant gaps in education and prevention efforts, and address the specific needs of these high-risk populations.

To this end, MHCC seeks to:

1. Increase collaboration with community partners, healthcare providers, and on-campus departments to ensure a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide and responding to crises.
2. Facilitate educational seminars for faculty, staff, and students on mental health topics that specifically address the needs of SDCC’s at-risk populations.
3. Develop innovative and creative educational materials that promote crisis lines and address the warning signs of suicide.

Measurable objectives for the entire project period include collaboration with 60 community organizations to attend on-campus events and offer resources to students, formal MOUs/MOAs with at least 9 agencies or providers to offer a higher level of mental health care to students, and the creation of a formal crisis response plan. In addition, MHCC will provide educational seminars to 270 faculty and staff on supporting at-risk student populations and will provide educational seminars to 4050 students on depression, the signs of suicide, and interpersonal violence prevention. Finally, MHCC will use innovative approaches to promote crisis lines and address the warning signs of suicide, reaching an additional 3885 students throughout the project period.

The Suicide Prevention Program at Salisbury University (SU) is a collaboration of University departments and organizations, both on and off campus, seeking to best serve approximately 8,400 undergraduate and graduate students. A multi-pronged approach will be used to educate the campus community, including educational media campaign. E-trainings and in-person discussion groups for students, faculty, and staff serve as the core of our approach.

By the end of our funding cycle, we expect to demonstrate increases in faculty, staff, and students’ knowledge of the resources available to students, ability to identify and discuss warning signs of distress, comfort with assisting students in need of help, and, if appropriate, capacity to refer students to the campus Counseling Center. Of particular focus is decreasing the stigma attached to seeking and receiving mental health assistance, as well as increasing outreach to historically underserved and at-risk populations on campus. All 10,000 members of the campus community will be served on an annual basis via the educational media campaign. As a result, it is expected that several thousand students, staff, and faculty will complete training programs and that hundreds of at-risk students will receive mental health services

SU is located on the rural Eastern Shore of Maryland and is part of the University System of Maryland. SU is a growth university, and as such, we expect our student population to expand; generally 2,100 new and transfer students enter SU each year. Approximately 20% of the student population at SU consists of minority students; of the 616 faculty members and 1007 staff, 10.4% of the faculty and 35.4% of the staff are also members of historically defined minority populations. Recent data from campus organizations indicate that many members of our student population are in need of mental health intervention since suicidal ideation, alcohol and drug problems, self-injurious behavior, and depression are all occurring at high rates at SU.

We have targeted three main goals for the Suicide Prevention Program: 1) Increase early detection; 2) Increase help-seeking behavior in students; and 3) Increase help-seeking behavior in high-risk students. Program objectives and activities have been designed for each goal. Our evaluation plan includes multiple measures to assess whether we have met our stated goals and related objectives. First, a campus-wide survey will be distributed that captures information across our dominant indicators; second, the Counseling Center maintains a database of information on the type and number of referrals, consultations, interventions, and demographics of their clients; and third, the e-trainings used in the Program (Kognito’s at-risk for University Students and at-risk for University Faculty) deliver reports on outcomes for all participants. Program staff has demonstrated ability to implement and evaluate the Suicide Prevention Program; by the end of our funding cycle, we believe we will have made a considerable impact on the mental health and help-seeking culture at SU and create a permanent change in the campus community that will extend beyond the end of the grant.