Trinity Christian College

The purpose of the Trinity Christian College Campus Suicide Prevention Grant program is to significantly expand the suicide prevention and response: services of a faith-based college in the Chicago area. This purpose will be met by adding a key program leader as well as grant and matching resources so that this task of prevention and response can be assigned to and effectively implemented by our on-campus counseling services and be connected to community resources. By means of this grant, we will place a Suicide Prevention Specialist (the project director) in our Cooper Career & Counseling Center (CCCC), improve our Crisis Response Plan to include a clear focus on suicide, create a comprehensive Suicide Prevention Plan that will employ multiple strategies, establish the gateway for both on- and off-campus services in our Cooper Career and Counseling Center, and educate those providing clinical services to our students as to the suicide prevention plan.

Our program is ideally suited for our target population which shows evidence of eating disorders, depression and other affective disorders, relational issues (friends and dating, family-including divorce, adoption, and step-family issues), alcohol and drug abuse/addiction, pornography and/or gambling addictions, and identity/sexual orientation issues as well as other mental and behavioral health issues that may lead to suicide. Our student body is 8% African-American, 2% Asian, 5% Hispanic, and 1.5% non-resident aliens; the remainder are Caucasians. This program is characterized by cultural competence by all involved; the staff for this program includes an Hispanic project director and two other ethnic minority clinicians.

This program will effectively address our needs for more training across campus, better linkage to off-campus providers, better understanding of mental and behavioral health services without stigma, easier and more available access for help, better understanding of the warning signs of suicide, and the need to connect families to solutions. Finally, addressing these needs will, per the purpose of the CSPG program, enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, which can lead to school failure.