By joining JED Campus, UofL demonstrates its commitment to the emotional well-being of its students. JED Campuses embark on a multi-year strategic collaboration that not only assesses and enhances the work that is already being done but also helps create positive, lasting, systemic change in the campus community. The program provides schools with a framework for supporting student mental health, as well as assessment tools, feedback reports, a strategic plan and ongoing support from the JED higher education team.

“Our students’ wellbeing is our top priority,” said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. “We know the COVID pandemic has been particularly hard on our students and others across the country. JED Campus will provide another tool to help us best protect and support our students throughout their college careers.” 

 “The college years are the age when many mental health issues first manifest, and it can be a time of significant stress and pressure,” said JED CEO John MacPhee. “JED Campus helps schools by working with them to survey everything their university does to support their students’ emotional health and find practical ways to augment these efforts in a comprehensive way. We believe the implementation of a campus-wide approach to mental health will lead to safer, healthier communities, and likely greater student retention.”

UofL’s membership in JED Campus begins with establishing an interdisciplinary, campus-wide team to assess, support and implement program, policy and system improvements and completing a confidential, self-assessment survey on its mental health promotion, substance use and suicide prevention efforts. Upon completion of the assessment, JED subject matter experts provide schools with a comprehensive feedback report identifying successes and opportunities for enhancements. Over the course of four years, the University of Louisville will collaborate with JED to help implement enhancements. All self-assessment responses and feedback reports are confidential.�� 

The percentage of adults ages 18 to 25 who have had serious thoughts of suicide in Kentucky is 7.45%. Further, 46% of college students have a diagnosable mental health issue, half of which are untreated.��

These numbers indicate a crisis and, as we mark Suicide Prevention Month in September, UofL is focused on ensuring our students are aware of the resources available on campus to help them better manage their mental health.��

The University of Louisville Counseling Center, for example, provides short-term individual, group, and couples counseling, crisis intervention and psychological testing. The Dean of Students Office, Residence Life and UofL Department of Public Safety are also equipped with suicide prevention resources and help.��

Then, , part of Student Affairs. The program was created specifically to provide training and awareness campaigns for students, faculty and staff. To mark Suicide Prevention Month, the group will host tabling events Sept. 19 and 23 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the SAC across from Chick-fil-A. The group will also host a “100 reasons to live” tree showcasing students’ artwork drawn on leaves.��

Also in September, the University of Louisville’s Dean of Students and Counseling Center encourages students to complete the online, interactive Kognito training, which allows users to learn how to help a friend or fellow student who is struggling.��Topics include techniques to talk to a friend you are concerned about, how to recognize signs of distress and what support services are available on campus. For the college-aged cohort specifically, such interactive training is critical, according to Geri Morgan, student care manager in the Dean of Students’ office.��

“Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among traditionally-aged college students,” Morgan said. “We know from UofL’s well-being survey that students are more likely to go to a friend with their thoughts of suicide rather than to a family member, adviser, or instructor. Helping students learn and practice the skills to help their friends is important in getting students under such stress to professional help and potentially saving someone’s life.”

UofL is also focused on educating the community about suicide risk and ways to support loved ones. From Sept. 26-28, will lead a training, hosted by UofL’s Kent School, called “Navigate: Helping Families Navigate Suicide Risk.” The training will be held in Burhans Hall on the Shelby Campus.��

The first day will cover an overview of suicide risk and assessment, including managing ongoing suicide risk and determining appropriate response based on risk levels. The other days focus on understanding family factors, including communication, response, dynamics and youth and adult development; and guidelines for moving forward, including family safety planning, tough conversations and family-based treatment. ����ֱ�� credit is available and a student rate is available as well.��

For those who need help, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-TALK. A full list of resources available at UofL is .��

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Stephen O’Connor, PhD, associate director of the UofL Depression Center, will present “Understanding and Recovering from Suicidality” at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2000 Douglass Blvd. The lecture is sponsored by the and .

Depression is an important topic to focus on for suicide prevention, but there is much more to suicidal experiences that are not explained or characterized by depression, O’Connor said.

“This is a misunderstood topic and we want people to better understand how to conceptualize why people develop suicidal thoughts,” O’Connor said. “Although the majority of people who have suicidal thoughts are experiencing depression, most depressed people are not suicidal. Therefore, the public needs to understand how depression indirectly impacts suicidality, whereas other factors are more directly related to suicide risk.”

The best treatments that help people recover from a suicidal crisis address the experiences and reasons that people have for feeling like death is a good option, he said.

For more information, call the Depression Center at 502-588-4886.

The program, called QPR, which stands for “Question, Persuade, Refer” trains people to react to warnings of suicide with the same kind of step-by-step, quick-action, life-saving procedure as CPR.

“This helps a person know how to react when someone they know is exhibiting signs of suicide,” said Tracie Meyer, Coordinator of , UofL’s suicide prevention program.

Cards Speak offered the training in collaboration with The Louisville Health Advisory Board (LHAB) Behavioral Health Committee and the Kentucky State Zero Suicide Grant program.

“The LHAB has set a Bold Goal of providing QPR training to 10,000 Jefferson County residents during, which is September 9-15,” Meyer said. “We are in the beginning stages of planning these events, and this was one of them. We have QPR trainers traveling throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee to help us reach our goal.”

The training encourages people to listen and watch for suicide warning signs. It provides dialogue to help ascertain if a person needs professional assistance and if so, guide them to it.

Sara Choate, interim program manager at Health Promotion, a division of Campus Health Services, said the training is important now more than ever, as a  released this summer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that suicide rates rose in all but one state between 1999 and 2016, with increases seen across age, gender, race and ethnicity.

, nearly 45,000 suicides occurred in the U.S. in 2016 — more than twice the number of homicides — making it the 10th-leading cause of death.

Of particular concern Choate said, is that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for ages 15 to 34, which is the typical age range of UofL’s student population.

“Our mission at health promotion at UofL is to offer services, resources and programs for students that address how they can embolden their well-being and resilience in their personal and academic lives,” she said. “Our students are in this high risk age group. So, it’s our responsibility in the health promotion field, especially on campus, to talk about creating opportunities to improve social connectedness, which is one of the main protective factors.”  

Meyer said that there are a number of others on campus who have already received QPR Training, especially in Campus Housing and in the Dean of Students Office. All first-year medical students undergo the training, too.

There will be additional free, 90-minute QPR Suicide Prevention Training sessions offered throughout Louisville Sept 9-15. .

for ways to help if you know someone who is exhibiting signs of suicide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates have increased 25 percent nationwide, with Kentucky experiencing a 36.6 percent increase between 1999 and 2016.

Researchers with the CDC found that more than half of people who died by suicide did not have a known diagnosed mental health condition at the time of death. Several factors contribute to risk for suicide, including relationship problems, substance misuse, physical health problems and stress tied to jobs, money, legal issues or loss of housing.

, PhD, associate director of the , urges people to reach out to others who they suspect are contemplating suicide.

“The stigma of experiencing suicidal thoughts is often a barrier for people to express what they’re going through. The best way to break that barrier is by having conversations, no matter how uncomfortable they may be,” said O’Connor, a clinical psychologist.

Guidance on conversation starters is available at , a campaign by the that provides video scenarios and other information on reaching out to those who are struggling.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the behaviors listed below may be signs that someone is considering suicide:

• Talking about wanting to die or wanting to kill themselves.
• Talking about feeling empty, hopeless or having no reason to live.
• Making a plan or looking for a way to kill themselves, such as searching online, stockpiling pills or buying a gun.
• Talking about great guilt or shame.
• Talking about feeling trapped or feeling that there are no solutions.
• Feeling unbearable emotional or physical pain.
• Talking about being a burden to others.
• Using alcohol or drugs more often.
• Acting anxious or agitated.
• Withdrawing from family and friends.
• Changing eating and/or sleeping habits.
• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge.
• Taking great risks that could lead to death, such as driving extremely fast.
• Talking or thinking about death often.
• Displaying extreme mood swings, suddenly changing from very sad to very calm or happy.
• Giving away important possessions.
• Saying goodbye to friends and family.
• Putting affairs in order, making a will.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, several resources are available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255. The service is available to everyone. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the line via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential.

provides emergency psychiatric services 24/7 with specialists who stabilize adults experiencing mental health crisis. To contact emergency psychiatric services, call 502-562-3120.

, which includes the UofL Depression Center, provides treatment for mental health issues including addiction, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, geriatric psychiatry and women’s mental health. For appointments, call 502-588-4450.

Active Minds RSO

The University of Louisville has an Active Minds RSO on campus. The group’s mission is to make sure every student knows that mental illness is treatable, suicide is preventable, and help is available.

Game day marks the last day in Suicide Prevention Week and and , campus organizations with the mission of suicide prevention, have collaborated on a video that gives people resources they can turn to in a crisis. The video, which features students from Clemson and UofL, will be shown on the Jumbo Tron during half time of the game.

The video encourages viewers to put in their phones the phone number (1-800-273-TALK) or text the  (text HOME to 741741).

“With the right tools and training found at both schools, all students will be equipped to seek help for themselves and be able to assist others in crisis,” said UofL Student Government Association president Vishnu Tirumala.

Tracie Meyer, Cards Speak Coordinator, said the message is important as national research shows that one in 10 college students contemplate suicide at some point.

“That’s a whole range of actions and emotions,” Meyer said. “The hope is that the other nine out of 10 students can support that one student in getting the help they need.”

Michelle Jones, a mechanical engineering student at UofL’s Speed School of Engineering, knows how important the message is. She lost her brother to suicide last year. Since then, she and her family have committed themselves to honoring his memory through awareness with and .��

“I think it’s incredibly important to get students on college campuses comfortable talking about their emotional well-being,” she said.��

Jones, who works with Cards Speak, said she’s grateful for the opportunity to reach so many thousands of people on Saturday.

“The only way we can get through this, to really make a breakthrough and make a lasting difference, is to work together as a community,” she said.��

Clemson and UofL are both recipients of the , which helps fund their work.

to watch a story by WHAS11 about the collaboration.

Cards Speak also worked this week with the School of Public Health and Information Sciences to screen the movie on campus. The movie, which is based on the true story of Holden Layfield, a 17-year-old boy who fights to keep his mental illness a secret, was followed by a panel discussion with director Tamlin Hall, actor Matthew Fahey and educator Morgan Melton.��