SAMHSA's Campus Suicide Prevention program is funded by Congress under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (the Act).
Signed by President George W. Bush in 2004, the Act is the first Federal legislation to provide specific funding for youth suicide prevention programs, and it authorized $82 million over 3 years for SAMHSA to fund these programs (see "Preventing Suicide on College Campuses").
Campus grantees use funds to:
Develop training programs to teach effective responses to students with mental and behavioral health problems.
Create networks of student services to identify and assess mental and behavioral health problems.
Develop seminars to promote help-seeking behaviors; reduce stigma; and provide information on suicide prevention, identification, and reduction of risk factors.
Create college-based helplines or promote SAMHSA's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK).
Prepare materials that address warning signs of suicide, describe risk and protective factors, and identify actions to take with students in distress.
Prepare materials for families of college students to increase awareness of potential mental and behavioral health issues.
