Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Illinois Wesleyan University’s Titan HEART (Helping Everyone Achieve Resilience Together) project will strengthen the campus and community mental health network support infrastructure and serve first-generation, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC student populations of focus, in addition to training faculty, staff, and peers to identify risk factors, promote personal wellness, and foster a genuine sense of belonging. Outreach efforts will raise awareness, promote mental health and campus safety, and support a culture of care. Key project activities include the development of a community mental health coalition, the implementation of JED Campus program initiatives, enhanced screening and assessment tools for students, and ongoing professional development and training for faculty and staff. During three years of grant activities, Titan HEART will serve over 3,600 students and staff (Year 1: 1,389 served; Year 2: 1,126 served; Year 3: 1,116 served) through a combination of screenings and assessment, direct clinical care, targeted outreach, academics offerings, trainings, and workshops. Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) first-generation (23.8% of student appointments), LGBTQ+ (35.9% of student appointments), and BIPOC students (36.5% of student appointments) underutilize counseling services disproportionately compared to their other IWU peers. According to American College Health Association data, these students are at higher risks for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, self-harm, ideation, and suicide as they navigate their identities and communities of care. Illinois Wesleyan University’s Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS) will strengthen its capacity to plan, serve, and care for students in crisis. CCS will work in partnership with key Bloomington-Normal community stakeholders, like Carle BroMenn Medical Center, McLean County Center for Human Services, and Chestnut Family Health Center, to provide direct care, training, and assessment assistance. CCS will also work with telehealth services to expand referral options and crisis intervention capacity. Titan HEART’s goals are to close key gaps of service and care in screening and assessment and 24-hour crisis intervention of IWU student populations of focus with higher rates of suicidal thoughts, ideation, and attempts. These goals are rooted in outreach and clinical interventions for first-generation, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC students who are at greater risk for academic, social, emotional, and family distress. The primary goals of Titan HEART are to: 1. Enhance IWU’s mental health direct service capacity; 2. Develop a comprehensive mental health training and delivery plan for faculty and staff; 3. Enhance capacity to support student wellbeing and mental health crises; 4. Normalize campus support for mental health through the visibility of resources, with an emphasis on outreach to populations of focus; 5. Strengthen IWU’s network infrastructure with campus, local, state, and national resources. IWU will accomplish these goals by building a stronger network infrastructure that regularly engages key stakeholders, and by providing students, faculty, and staff with information and resources to reduce access to lethal means and to increase the direct clinical care service and support they so desperately need with screenings, assessments, evidence-based trainings, and 24/7 crisis service support. In meeting the needs of its most struggling students, Titan HEART will better serve the campus, the Bloomington-Normal area, and the state of Illinois for years to come.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
