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Date: September 14, 2006
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press
Telephone: 240-276-2130
   
 

SAMHSA AWARDS $25.7 Million in Suicide Prevention Grants to Universities, State

 
 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the award of 46 grants, totaling $25.7 million to support a broad array of activities across the country to prevent suicide, including grants funded through appropriations under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act for youth suicide prevention. These grants are being released in support of; Suicide Prevention Week, September 10-16, 2006.

Nationwide, someone dies by suicide every 17 minutes. Last year alone, over 7 percent of youth; 1.8 million youth; had thoughts about killing themselves during their worst or most recent episode of major depression.  Approximately 900,000 of these youth made plans to commit suicide; 712,000 acted on those plans by attempting suicide.  The grants support initiatives by states and on college campuses to prevent suicide and to enhance services for youth depression, other mental health problems, and substance abuse that put them at risk for suicide.  

“Suicide is a preventable tragedy for individuals, for families and for communities,” said Assistant Surgeon General Eric Broderick, DDS, MPH, Acting Deputy Administrator of SAMHSA.  “These grants to programs across the country are an important part of the solution to suicide in our nation. Education about suicide risk factors, such as depression and drug abuse, is another part of the solution.  So is early intervention, such as our national suicide prevention lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK.  By working on suicide prevention in schools and on athletic fields, in workplaces and places of worship, and at home, we can save thousands of lives.”
           
The grants are being awarded under both the Campus Suicide Prevention Grant program, with up to $75,000 per year for up to 3 years, and the State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program, with up to $400,000 per year for up to 3 years.  The former program, funded for $2.3 million in 2006, assists colleges and universities in their efforts to prevent suicide and to enhance services for students with mental health problems and substance abuse that place them at risk for suicide.  The latter program, with almost $4.8 million in 2006 funding, supports statewide and tribal activities to develop and implement youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies that are grounded in collaborations between the public and private sectors.

In addition, SAMHSA has made almost $1 million in supplemental grant funds available this year to the ongoing National Suicide Prevention Resource Center that provides training, resources and prevention support information to organizations and individuals developing suicide prevention programs, interventions and policies.  Similarly, SAMHSA supplemental funds of $369,000 in 2006 will continue the grant program that manages the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and networks and certifies local suicide prevention hotlines that are linked to the National Lifeline.

Combined 2006 funding for all of these suicide prevention grant programs is $8.5 million.  Continuation of these awards is subject to both availability of funds and progress achieved by awardees.

The 34 Campus Suicide Prevention grants support programs at:

California State University Fullerton Auxiliary Service Corp., Fullerton, Cal. -- $75,000
Regis University, Denver, Colo. -- $73,744
Connecticut College, New London, Conn. -- $75,000
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, Fla. -- $12,500
Georgia Southern University Research and Services, Statesboro, Ga. -- $75,000
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. -- $74,745
Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, Ill. -- $54,656
University of Maryland, College Park, Md. -- $74,887
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, Mass. -- $75,000
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. -- $74,969
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worchester, Mass. -- $74,825
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich.-- $75,000
Mississippi State University at Meridian, Meridian, Miss. -- $34,925
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Miss. -- $74,110
Linn State Technical College, Linn, Mo. -- $75,000
University of Nebraska Board of Regents at Kearney, Kearney, Neb. -- $74,963
Saint Peter’s College, Jersey City, N.J. -- $71,451
City College/Research Foundation, City University of New York, New York, N.Y. -- $74,953
Research Foundations of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, N.Y. -- $68,602
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D. -- $75,000
Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus, Ohio -- $75,000
Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio -- $62,720
Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee, Okmulgee, Okla. -- $75,000
Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, Penn. -- $64,571
Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico -- $74,719
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, Cayey, Puerto Rico -- $74,000
University of South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia, S.C. -- $72,040
University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. -- $74,975
University of North Texas, Denton, Texas -- $75,000
University of Texas –Pan American, Edinburg, Texas -- $75,000
Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah -- $75,000
University of Utah Counseling Center, Salt Lake City, Utah -- $49,612
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisc. -- $57,105
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyo. -- $74,940

 Recipients of 2006 grants under the State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program are:

Arizona

Tohono O’odham Nation, Sells -- $400,000 in first-year funding to implement a public private partnership-built program to address the risk factors leading to youth suicide, including substance abuse, using evidence-based practices appropriate to the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Colorado

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver -- $400,000 in the first year to build a comprehensive suicide prevention that targets adolescents and young adults at heightened risk for suicidal behaviors, including a public awareness campaign and a training initiative that results in the establishment of safety nets of adults and peers able to recognize and respond to warning signs of suicide in four counties and on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Kentucky

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Frankfort -- $400,000 in first-year funding to undertake a statewide effort to raise awareness, enhance effective interventions and utilize research and data collection methodologies to reduce the number of successful suicides by youth in the state.  The effort will include not only public and professional education about risk factors for suicide and protective factors to help prevent suicide but also training in prevention, early intervention and post-intervention.

Maryland

White Mountain Apache Tribe, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, White River -- $400,000 in the first year to collaborate to expand its suicide prevention initiative by implementing an integrated three-tier suicide prevention approach using culturally adapted, piloted and evaluated evidence-based interventions that address youth suicide risk and protective factors on the individual, family and community levels.  Tier one focuses on community education about suicide risk factors and prevention. Tier two addresses the needs of youth with suicide risk factors. Tier three serves youth who have attempted suicide.

Michigan

Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing -- $400,000 in the first year to enable programs and individuals to expand suicide prevention efforts in the state, with a focus on primary prevention and early intervention, by supporting community efforts to better coordinate service delivery, providing a cadre of trainers expert in gatekeeper and professional training on suicide prevention, undertaking a suicide prevention health communication campaign to reach 19-24 year olds not in academic settings and building an even more coordinated state suicide prevention infrastructure.

North Dakota

North Dakota Department of Health, Bismarck-- $400,000 in first-year funding to reduce and sustain the reduction of youth suicide mortality in high-risk areas of the state by implementing community-based programs, both in communities and on campuses with high rates of youth suicide mortality, providing population-based training about risk factors for suicide and intervention strategies, and increasing public awareness about youth suicide in the state.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Fort Yates – $400,000 in the first year to implement Okolakiciye Unyukinipi (“Revitalizing our Societies”) that will bring together tribal leaders, service providers, youth and faith community leaders to implement a comprehensive tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention plan that will identify and increase youth referral to mental health services and programs,  increase protective factors and reduce risk factors for youth suicide, and improve access to prevention and early intervention programs.

Ohio

Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus -- $399,873 in the first year to assist state suicide prevention programs with training to initiate or expand research-based, culturally competent approaches to early intervention of youth at risk for suicide and those who may be experiencing undiagnosed, untreated mental disorders.  Parent-approved risk assessment will be made available for youth ages 11-18.  To increase the number of trained professionals in suicide assessment, a “train the trainers” approach will be implemented for qualified personnel in the state.

South Dakota

State of South Dakota, Pierre-- $400,000 in the first year to implement suicide prevention and early intervention programs in high schools and universities targeting youth ages 14-24, parents, staff and community “gatekeepers,” providing awareness, training and education and establishing linkages among schools, mental health centers and substance abuse treatment providers through referral and post-intervention protocols.  Among the partners are Sinte Gelska University on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and Wakanyeja Pawicayapi on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Washington

Washington State Department of Health, Olympia-- $400,000 in first-year funding to reduce suicides among high-risk groups, including Native American youth by establishing and sustaining a statewide coalition to coordinate prevention activities and to provide opportunities for traditional and nontraditional partners to collaborate on suicide prevention strategies, by implementing specific strategies targeting youth suicide with Native American- and youth-serving organizations, and by implementing evidence-based suicide prevention strategies on university campuses across the state.

West Virginia

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Charleston -- $398,254 in first-year funding to provide a mobile quick-response team and awareness training to students, faculty and staff regarding the signs and symptoms of suicidal behavior, increase access to clinical services for children and adolescents in need,  increase awareness of risk factors for suicide by individuals working with children and youth in communities (including foster care and juvenile justice) and to provide support for survivors and parents of youth who have attempted suicide.

Wyoming

State of Wyoming, Cheyenne -- $400,000 in the first year to reduce the rate of suicidality among state youth, ages 10-24, with a special emphasis on Native American youth and college students, through better statewide coordination (including the establishment of a statewide youth suicide prevention advisory council), school-based programming, community-based prevention programming, a pilot program for high-risk youth and anti-stigma/public awareness.


 
 
   
 

SAMHSA, is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions, treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

 
 
   

SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service