TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - A new project at Florida State University is helping to prevent suicide among college students, by providing more resources to academic departments.
The "Noles Care in Academics" project will provide training to faculty, staff and students to localize sources of support in the learning environment of students, and to encourage early detection of student distress and referrals for professional help. It started as a collaborative effort between academic departments and the campus's health initiative.
Marty Swanbrow Becker, an assistant professor at FSU, says the program will "promote mental health wellness on campus letting people know that helping people in distress is not hard its about recognizing when someone needs some help, having the confidence to go and talk to them and knowing where to refer for professional help and what we want to do is make those resources more available on campus, make sure everybody that can get trained is trained and will know where to turn for help, both for themselves and for their peers for their students for their friends."
The project will incorporate specific components into the training that address high-risk groups, such as members of the lgbtq community, those identifying as racial or ethnic minority students, and student veterans.
A federal grant is helping fund the program over the next three years.
