Blue Mountain Community College

Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC), the only comprehensive community college in rural northeastern Oregon, plans to develop and establish a network-based infrastructure that supports suicide prevention awareness education and training for faculty, staff, students, and student families throughout the college’s 18,000-square-mile service area. BMCC currently provides no health or mental health services for students except a part- time student counselor intern at the Pendleton campus. The urgency of addressing this critical institutional gap was made evident by BMCC’s lack of preparedness when two students committed suicide during the 2003-04 academic year. The goal of this project is to infuse suicide prevention awareness and training throughout the college’’ eight locations. The grant will support six primary activities: 1. Develop training programs for students and college personnel using external local resources available through partnerships such as the Umatilla-Morrow Counties’ Emergency Response Crisis Management Coalition. 2. Solidify networks with local health care providers and integrate the network processes and services into an updated crisis response plan for the college. 3. Develop and implement educational seminars for students and staff. 4. Promote linkages to local hotlines and/or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 5. Prepare and disseminate informational materials that address warning signs and provide guidelines for referral and other responses. 6. Prepare educational materials for families of BMCC students.