The WISDOM project: wellness initiative for students: designating and offering mental health support - the wellness initiative for students: destigmatizing and offering mental health support…

The WISDOM project: wellness initiative for students: designating and offering mental health support - the wellness initiative for students: destigmatizing and offering mental health support (WISDOM) project seeks to develop a comprehensive whole-campus approach to suicide and substance use prevention at central methodist university (CMU) in fayette, MO. The WISDOM project will build an infrastructure and network that will expand mental health and substance use disorder services and sustain effective prevention programming. The goals of the WISDOM project are to: 1) enhance and strengthen campus policies and infrastructure to provide comprehensive support to students at risk for mental health and substance use disorders; 2) increase campus and family knowledge of the prevention of suicide, mental health, and substance use disorders to reduce stigma and normalize help-seeking behaviors; and 3) improve the identification and treatment of at-risk college students so they can complete their studies. The project will serve participants by implementing programs to increase counseling center capacity, expand student safety nets through collaborative partnerships, increase student mental health and substance use disorder awareness and resources, identify at-risk students early, reduce stigma, and reduce the number of students withdrawing for mental health reasons. The project will provide direct training to frontline faculty including coaches and athletic trainers and provide other programs, activities, and services to at least 1,000 students and other stakeholders each year of the grant. Specific project activities include: 1) create a suicide prevention network of internal and external community partners; 2) provide QPR gatekeeper training to frontline faculty and expand training to other stakeholders by the end of the funding period; 3) review and establish crisis response, postvention, and safety plans along with harm reduction policies; 4) enhance screening efforts through events and training of key stakeholders; and 5) coordinate messaging campaigns, workshops, events, and activities that raise awareness of mental health and substance use disorders, promote resources and services, reduce stigma, and build life skills. Considering the large population of student-athletes and the greater perceived stigmatization in athletics, the project programming will include activities that directly impact the student-athlete population at CMU.