Together We Thrive: A comprehensive suicide prevention initiative - St. John’s University (SJU) will implement Together We Thrive, a comprehensive suicide and substance use prevention initiative guided by the Social Ecological Model to strengthen awareness, early identification, treatment access, help-seeking, prevention, postvention, and recovery efforts across campus. SJU will administer the Healthy Minds Study to assess mental health concerns, suicide risk factors, and substance misuse and guide programming for students at elevated risk, including student-athletes, student veterans, and Greek life. Strategies include peer outreach, annual suicide prevention events, multimedia education campaigns, digitized evidence-based mental health and substance use screenings, and gatekeeper training. Each year, over 250 student leaders and 125 faculty and staff will complete Question Persuade Refer training. Selected staff and administrators will receive Counseling on Access to Lethal Means training, and Counseling and Psychological Services staff will receive Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment training. A Suicide Prevention Task Force will review and update policies related to reducing access to lethal means, develop a coordinated postvention plan, and strengthen campus suicide prevention efforts. Ongoing evaluation of training, screenings, referrals, and outreach will guide continuous quality improvement and support increased prevention knowledge, early identification, referral, and help-seeking.
