More than 11,000 students, faculty, and staff trained.
The Garret Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention grant, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has served 抖M女仆 students, faculty, and staff since October 2018. Through the grant, the Center for Public Policy and Health (CPPH) has progressed campus efforts in mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and substance use prevention.
According to Deric Kenne, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Public Policy and Health, the GLS grants awarded in 2018 and 2021, had three primary goals on campus. The first goal was to increase mental health awareness through social media, U Good events, and other means of promotion. The second was to train students, faculty, and staff in mental health awareness trainings (MHATs) like Mental Health First Aid, Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR), and the Center鈥檚 own MHAT-Awareness, Interaction, Direction (A.I.D.). The third goal was to increase campus partnerships relating to mental health promotion.
鈥淯sing GLS funds, the Center was able to develop its very own MHAT, A.I.D. This training was created in response to challenges that the Center and other MHAT grant recipients experienced, such as the length of existing trainings and the inability to modify them. Our A.I.D. training was developed in 2019 and has been implemented at 抖M女仆 and in the community since then,鈥 said Kenne.
鈥淭his training teaches people how to be aware of signs of distress in others, how to effectively interact with someone who is experiencing distress, and how to direct them to appropriate resources. Through a study that Center faculty, staff, and students conducted, ,鈥 continued Kenne.
In six years, the Center trained more than 11,000 students, faculty and staff in MHATs. Some notable partnerships include, Resident Housing, Flashes 101 Peer Success Mentors, Employee Wellness, Greek Life, and many more. In total, more than 20 new partnerships between the CPPH and departments/organizations at 抖M女仆 were developed.
Through 鈥楿 Goods,鈥 the Center was able to connect with over 2,000 students through in-person tabling events, as well as webinars that were conducted due to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. U Goods are events that raise awareness of mental health and substance misuse at 抖M女仆. Topics included Halloween and stigma reduction, gratitude, positivity, mental health awareness, sleep, and stress, to name a few. Now, U Good event guide templates are housed on the U Good website so other departments, and universities can bring U Goods into their own space.
Additionally, the Center created two student-led organizations through the support of the GLS grant; Active Minds @ KSU, and the Student Mental Health Organization. Each of these organizations planned and implemented mental health awareness activities such as an annual Suicide Prevention Walk, a mental health book club, and many more, to increase student involvement while raising mental health awareness.
The Hear to Help Initiative(H2H).was also made possible through the GLS grant. This initiative was created as a means to reduce mental health stigma and identify individuals who completed an MHAT who would be a good resource for someone who is struggling. Participants can take stickers, window clings, plaques, and more to display the H2H logo. The H2H initiative has been a part of a previous grant in Medina County Schools and is currently a part of two current community and school MHAT grants in the Center.
鈥淎s the end of the 6-year funding period approaches, program sustainability has been a priority. Our goal is to achieve program sustainability by modifying A.I.D. training to become an online training course that students, faculty, and staff can access in their own time,鈥 said GLS program coordinator, Kayla Marker.
If you have questions regarding any of our GLS initiatives, please reach out to Deric Kenne, director of the Center for Public Policy and Health at dkenne@kent.edu.