Cards SPEAK (Suicide Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Knowledge) - Cards SPEAK (Suicide Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Knowledge): The overall purpose of this project is to increase University of Louisville(UofL)’s capacity to offer a coordinated and evidence based approach to suicide prevention through Cards SPEAK. The target population for this grant is the 23,000+ students and 7000+ faculty and staff at UofL, who represent a diverse audience by race, socioeconomic status, and gender/sexual identity and have demonstrated clinical needs that are comparable to national trends that show an escalation of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation (CCMH, 2021). Building upon a committed infrastructure of care providers, researchers, and leadership, as well as a documented track record of success, UofL will address gaps and barriers that remain in this system which include 1) evidence based mental health programming that is routinely and broadly available to students in various formats (embedded courses, workshops/trainings, on-line offerings, student support groups); 2) evidence based training of faculty/staff in identification and response to student mental health needs/crises; 3) enhancement of partnerships network for referrals and coordination of care; 4) communication and outreach efforts to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and manage response to crises; 5) expansion of infrastructure to promote communication and coordination of key partners and initiative to avoid duplication, enhance consistency of policies and procedures, and advance data driven decision making regarding mental health needs of the community. The Cards SPEAK project has the following goals and objectives: Goal 1) implement prevention programs for at least 3000 participants in training and 15,000 or more reached through events and media that include objectives a) training programs for gatekeepers such as Kognito, QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA); b) training of faculty/staff to support help seeking of students; c) universal screening of incoming students through GEN 101 and other campus offerings; d) universal training of incoming students in mental health foundational skills through GEN 101; e) offering of psychoeducation programs on mental health topics in person and on-line; f) develop peer support networks; g) offer anti-racism as suicide prevention for underrepresented minority students; h) support of campus/community events such as mental health resource fair and fundraising walk. Goal 2) enhance intervention strategies through objectives that include a) increase partnerships with community agencies to facilitate warm hand off when suicidal student needs inpatient services or when students need community based counseling; b) provide suicide specific training to UofL Health, ULCC, CFCWB, and professional trainees at UoL in evidence-based suicide screening and intervention to facilitate best practice. Goal 3) develop postvention strategies through objectives a) training of campus communicators/student reporters in appropriate language and processes b) development of support protocols for students seeking compassionate leave and/or delayed re-entry c) training of faculty/staff/organizations in support responses post-crisis. Goal 4) enhance campus and community partnerships in responding to student mental health needs through work of Advisory Board for this project, coordination of events/trainings/programs. Goal 5) develop sustainable infrastructure to support coordinated campus-wide efforts that emphasize students’ strong mental health through creation of full-time position, training of UofL faculty/staff/others, establishment of support networks and integration of foundational screening and assessment into incoming student classes. Rigorous evaluation will track process and outcome variables and be used for continuous quality improvement and planning purposes.
