Southside Campus and Community Collaborative for Mental Health Awareness - The Southside Campus and Community Collaborative for Mental Health Awareness (SCCC-MHA) will be established by this project and will provide evidence-based training and resources to preservice teachers, teachers and school personnel; college students, faculty and staff, and the campus police department; healthcare professionals; and members of the general public including families and caretakers. The 4 goals of this project are to: 1) promote mental health awareness through providing evidence-based training, 2) coordinate suicide prevention efforts, 3) facilitate referrals for mental health related concerns, and 4) build capacity in the Southside VA community to respond to mental health-related needs. Longwood University (LU) will serve as the primary coordinator and facilitator in partnership with schools and healthcare providers in the geographic, multi-county region of Virginia known as “Southside.” Partnerships include 5 public school divisions, the Virginia (VA) Department of Health Piedmont Health District, and local healthcare providers at Centra Southside Community Hospital and Central VA Baptist Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric, and Longwood University. Rural populations, such as those in Southside, generally experience long-standing challenges due to limited health resources and lack of access to quality prevention and intervention health care, and cultural and social norms especially as related to behavioral health care. By delivering evidence-based training, identifying and distributing relevant referral resources, promoting suicide prevention, and convening stakeholders, SCCC-MHA will increase the number of individuals trained to respond to individuals with mental disorders appropriately and safely. Providing evidence-based mental health training will help to strengthen the community, reduce mental health stigma, and better prepare individuals to effectively respond to challenges.
