Pilot Program to Promote Mental Health and Prevent Suicide

The Jed/EDC Partnership and the University of Rochester’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide (CSPS) are engaged in a multi-site Pilot Program to Promote Mental Health and Prevent Suicide at several colleges in the United States. This Pilot Program significantly advances the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention by increasing the evidence base for suicide prevention programs in institutions of higher education and developing promising programs for application nationwide.

The Pilot Program employs a multi-layered approach that parallels elements of the highly successful initiative of the United States Air Force. This comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, adapted for use on college campuses, incorporates universal interventions designed to reach the entire student body and targeted interventions to reach sub-populations and individuals at higher risk. Intervention components seek improvements in the access and delivery of mental health services, in addition to implementing an array of skills-based trainings, screenings, social marketing initiatives, and interventions to strengthen social networks and support systems.

The Jed/EDC Partnership and CSPS will provide universities with technical assistance in identifying priorities, designing and implementing interventions, and building institutional support for the Pilot Program, and will directly support data collection and analysis for the evaluation.