GLS Campus Suicide Prevention Grant
In partnership with Kent State of Wellbeing, Kent State University's Center for Public Policy and Health in the College of Public Health and Health Sciences was recently awarded $500,000 in grant funding by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration to support student mental health and wellbeing through the Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant. This is the Center's third time being awarded a GLS grant, which will total 10 years of imapct on campus!
GLS 3.0 will:
- Conduct a needs assessment driven by the student voice to identify service gaps on campus
- Offer mental health awareness trainings to train gatekeepers on campus who can identify mental distress in our community
- Work with campus stakeholders to improve the mental health culture within the campus community
- Bolster mental health programming on campus
Trainings offered by GLS 3.0:
Awareness. Interaction. Direction. (A.I.D.): Learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of students in distress, how to effectively interact with students who are in distress, and how to locate and provide resources to students in distress (60-90 minutes). Add a 30-minute self-care component, making this a 90-minute training. This class requires a group of 5 or more people.
- Our A.I.D. training was developed by faculty and staff in the Center for Public Policy and Health, and has been found to be an effective mental health awareness training. Read our article; Awareness. Interaction. Direction. (A.I.D.): evaluation of a novel mental health awareness training, published in Advances in Mental Health, to learn more.
- In addition to synchronous trainings, there is also an asychronous version of A.I.D. in Canvas. If you would like access to this course, please email Kayla Varney (kmarker@kent.edu).
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): Learn how to identify, understand, and respond to an individual who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge (6.5 hours). This is a blended training that requires two-hours of pre-work. This training requires a class minimum of five people, and a maximum of 30.
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR): Learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, how to talk to the person in crisis, and how to refer them to resources (60-90 minutes). This class requires a group of 5 or more people.
Click here to request a training on campus.
Click here to learn more about our Hear to Help Initiative.
The Principal Investigator for the grant is Kayla Varney, Research Associate in Kent State’s Center for Public Policy and Health.
This webpage and resources listed on this page were developed in part under grant number 1H79SM092123-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
