Grantee Types: Garrett Lee Smith Campus

Florida State University

Noles CARE in Academics aims to enhance existing campus suicide prevention interventions by providing more accessible resources to academic departments across the FSUcampus. We will accomplish our goals by training faculty, staff, and students within FSU’s academic departments to localize sources of support in the learning environment of students, and to encourage early detection of student distress and referrals for professional help. Through this project,we hope to make suicide prevention resources more available to our campus community of over 41,000 students and over 14,000 employees. In particular, we will incorporate specific components into our training that addresses high-risk groups such as members of the LGBTQ community, those identifying as racial or ethnic minority students, and student veterans.

We anticipate executing a model of suicide prevention training in which we train target faculty, staff, and students (e.g., department chairs, faculty volunteers, administrative coordinators, teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and those in leadership positions) in academic departments extensively. These trained individuals will become more skilled in the identification and referral for help of students in distress. These target members of academic departments will serve as points of contact for other faculty, staff, and students to consult with, and they will assist with referrals to help distressed students. We will also provide suicide prevention information to other faculty, staff, and students through methods that are less time-intensive and located within the academic environment. A core team composed of mental health professionals and peer educators will be responsible for all in-person trainings. In addition, to facilitate the main rollout of our campus suicide prevention efforts across academic departments, we will develop and implement a mobile application and web site for Noles CARE in Academics.

The goals of the project are as follows:

  1. Assess the needs of faculty, staff, and students within academic departments in carrying out suicide prevention efforts; the desire to implement suicide prevention training within academic departments; and the preferences of faculty, staff and students for receiving suicide prevention training within academic departments.
  2. Increase the percentage of faculty and staff who feel competent in handling students’ mental health concerns.
  3. Increase the percentage of student leaders who feel competent in intervening with distressed peers.
  4. Increase the perceived efficacy and comfort of students with talking to faculty and peers about getting help with their mental health concerns.
  5. Utilize a multidisciplinary leadership network to integrate suicide prevention training with other mental health initiatives on campus to increase student support for mental health within academic departments.

Florida Memorial University

The Florida Memorial University (FMU) Campus Suicide Prevention Initiative is aimed at developing a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide among the students and enhancing services for those with mental and substance use disorders. Underlying this approach is the use of evidenced-based training programs to educate and increase the awareness of students and campus personnel about the risk factors associated with suicide and how to respond in those inneed of mental health services. Related to this overarching goal are those mandated by the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) most of which are incorporated in the present grant. The project aims at serving students at FMU, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located in the greater Metropolitan Miami Gardens area. The population consists of approximately 1,700 students, the majority of which face significant social and economic related challenges; 66% are first generation college students and 65% have a family income of less than $30,000. In terms of ethnicity, 82% are Black, 5% are Hispanic, and 13% other races and ethnicities. The gender composition of the student population is 37% male and 63% female. Approximately 20% of the students are International students mostly from the Caribbean and Latin America. It is estimated that 9% of the students identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Trans-sexual (LGBT). In terms of the clinical characteristics of the students, survey data indicate that there is a vital need for the development of initiatives that promote mental health and prevents suicide and suicide related disorders such as depression and substance use. It has been found, for instance that 59% percent of the students sampled said they felt depressed sometimes to all the time; 5% said they had thought about suicide in the past year, while another 5% indicated that they attempted suicide in the past year. Moreover, the survey found that (81.5%) of the students believed that alcohol was a problem on campus, while 82.5% believe marijuana was a problem on campus (Stephenson and Beckerman, 2012). In terms of prevalence of substance use it was found that 48.8 % of the students indicated that they had used alcohol in the past 30 days while, 24.4% said they used marijuana in the past 30 days. In addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of this population, the project hopes to achieve a series of objectives and employ a set of strategies which includes establishing partnerships with variouson campus and community organizations, developing an Advisory Board, providing internal constituent evidenced based training on suicide prevention, developing educational seminars, develop a Crisis Response Plan that incorporates the promotion of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, conducting health screenings, and developing an awareness and Information Campaigns to inform members of the campus community and families of students about mental health disorders and suicide, risk and protective factors, and how to seek help. It is expected that at least 900 students and 100 faculty and staff will be served annually and 2020 individuals over a three year period in terms of either receiving training or being informed about suicide prevention and related risk factors such as substance use and depression, being screened, referred for counseling, or receive counseling services.

Florida Gulf Coast University

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 NationalSuicide 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.

Feather River Community College

Summary: The Feather River College Campus Suicide Prevention Project established a consortium of organizations in Plumas County, California, to develop a coordinated community response to the issue of suicide and its prevention at the community college. The Project provides gatekeeper trainings for key individuals to identify and assist students in crisis, as well as education and outreach to promote a campus culture that promotes help-seeking behaviors.

Population to be Served: This Project serves the students of Feather River Community College (FRC), with an annual enrollment of 1,782 students. The student body is 57% male and 43% female. They are ethnically diverse (51% White; 20% Hispanic; 13% African-American; 5% Asian; and 3% American Indian). Among all students, 56% were 24 years old and under and 44% were 25 years and over. 73% of full-time/first-time students receive financial aid. Of all undergraduate students, 61% received grant or scholarship assistance from a known source.

The purpose of FRC’s proposed project is to develop a coordinated response to address campus suicide prevention. The primary needs this proposal seeks to address include:

  1. The absence of a coordinated community response from a collaborative body focused on suicide prevention;
  2. The lack of training, education and outreach for faculty and students on warning signs, available resources, and how to refer to and access resources; and
  3. A campus culture that does not discuss mental and substance use disorders or actively encourage help-seeking behaviors.

Emory University

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.

Edward Waters College

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.

Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University (EMU) will develop and implement a plan to address suicide prevention and mental health promotion utilizing a comprehensive and coordinated network of students, faculty, staff and community resources. To be comprehensive not only requires a wide range of participants, but must also involve efforts on many different levels; awareness, education, training, crisis response, and intervention. EMU’s proposed project is titled “SAFE Now: Stigma and Fear End Now” at Eastern Michigan University. The project will serve the entire student body of 23,000, along with targeted efforts toward our LGBT students, student veterans, and students in the Honors College. Aligning with the current University infrastructure, the project will expand on current in–person training for selected faculty and staff and add online gatekeeper training for students, faculty and staff. Additionally, EMU will create a “SAFE Now” social norms marketing campaign with the support from three student organizations: Active Minds, Student Wellness Advisory Board and the Student Leader Group, aimed at delivering sustainable messaging and programming about the importance of changing attitudes that focus on reducing stigma, fear and myths related to mental illness, suicide, and seeking care.

Along with the awareness campaign, educational activities will be expanded to include monthly offerings that will insure that messaging is ongoing, rather than in a designated week or month only. A student-driven and administratively-supported model to planning and implementing programs and events will allow students to take more ownership for this project and, in turn, deliver in a way that creates a comfortable environment for open conversation with our student population.

While EMU supports various initiatives that address mental health disorders within the student population, we have lacked a coordinated approach to share accurate, up-to-date information, and provide education and training to understand and increase help seeking behaviors and promote suicide prevention as a community responsibility. The goal of this project is to unify current efforts across the university that are successful, but somewhat disconnected, and build on those activities to create a university-wide suicide prevention and mental health promotion plan that includes training programs, education activities, awareness campaigns and crisis response. Measurable objectives include:

  1. Increase help-seeking behaviors among EMU students,
  2. Reduce the negative attitudes and myths about mental illness and suicide that are framed in stigma, fear and lack of accurate information,
  3. Increase the number of students, faculty and staff who are able to recognize and respond to students experiencing mental health distress, 
  4. Create a community network of students, faculty, and staff, along with campus organizations and departments, that work together to promote suicide prevention.

Eastern Kentucky University

Eastern Kentucky University’s Suicide Awareness and Focus on Suicide (EKU SAFE) seeks systematically to create a safer and more caring campus community, to assist those at-risk for suicidal behavior, and to support those who are concerned regarding the welfare of members of the community. This project will be accomplished by using a public health model which expands on current campus practices to create a systemic program of suicide prevention and postvention that integrates service, policy and referral networks. EKU SAFE will more closely tie efforts between the Department of Psychology, the Counseling Center, Student Affairs, Housing, and community health care providers.

EKU SAFE will expand current prevention and gatekeeper training efforts, increase awareness and availability of mental health services to students, and better link the various means by which students access support and mental health resources at EKU. The goal is to reduce both direct and indirect population risk while also sealing the cracks in high-risk or critical cases by improving appropriate referral, treatment and follow-up. Suicide prevention efforts at EKU, which have been led to-date by the Counseling Center, have garnered substantial interest and commitment from both university leaders and front-line departments in developing solid partnerships and a more systemic structure for managing critical student incidents, mental health emergencies and suicide.

Major aspects of the program include:

  1. Campus Network and Policy Development in which a campus advisory group will be formed with representation from more than 8 campus departments, offices and academic units and eight community consultants, with the goal of creating a comprehensive, regularly-assessed and evidence-based campus suicide prevention plan;
  2. Health Communications and Stigma Reduction that aims to utilize social marketing and educational programs for students, their families, and community members which will decrease stigma and encourage help-seeking; and
  3. Gatekeeper and Clinical Training that seeks to expand gatekeeper training so that it is systematic in targeting specific populations of students, faculty and staff, and ensures that campus professionals and students in professional programs receive appropriate clinical training. Evaluation and data collection efforts will aid in providing evidence of whether grant activities are furthering best practices.

The project currently enjoys the support of multiple campus partners as well as university administration at the highest levels and community partners who are committed to creating a systemic suicide prevention program at EKU. The goal is to help our community keep “safe” from emergencies such as suicide, the types of events which no one on campus ever wants to happen. Increasing campus networks, campus policy, communications and clinical services will create a caring campus community.

East Tennessee State University

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.

Donnelly College

Donnelly College’s Wellness for Life project is a multi-faceted, comprehensive approach over three years to (1) create a climate of wellness for all its students and (2) to train ‘gatekeeper’ faculty and staff, as well as peer helpers, to identify and refer students with mental health problems and to assist them in seeking help. Additionally, Donnelly will (3) strengthen and formalize its networking infrastructure with area treatment and recovery support services, as well as other agencies/institutions dealing with mental health issues. The holistic approach of our project takes into account the fact that college-going years offer a real opportunity to impact mental health of students and eventual graduates throughout their lives.Donnelly students face some of the same mental health challenges as other college students, but they also have additional needs and challenges found in populations with high poverty levels, immigrant status, and poor educational backgrounds. Because of these needs, Donnelly intends to undertake a comprehensive approach to wellness, mental health promotion,and suicide prevention. Programmatic elements of the project include:

  • Enhancing the mental health staffing structure
  • Creating/obtaining educational materials on mental health and wellness that are appropriate for Donnelly’s unique student body
  • Conducting open-enrollment seminars on wellness and mental health promotion
  • Training 75% of its part-time adjunct faculty to serve as gatekeepers in identifying mental health issues among their students
  • Training 95% of full-time faculty and staff to serve as gatekeepers
  • Training 35 student leaders each year to serve as gatekeepers; selected members of the student gatekeeper group will serve on a Student Advisory Committee for the project
  • Formalizing relationships between mental health care providers and Donnelly so that students have seamless access to mental health services, including instituting a Partner Advisory Council
  • Creating an emergency response line that will connect student callers with appropriate help both day and night
  • Creating a crisis response plan for the Donnelly campus.