Boise State University

To meet the needs of the campus community, Boise State is seeking the GLS grant to help fill current education,
resource, and infrastructure gaps that exist for students that may be struggling with mental health and/or substance
use. Boise State is committed to implementing the Caring Broncos Project, a comprehensive suicide prevention
program to enhance efforts already initiated to offer education, resources, early intervention, and a continuum of
care for students. From fall 2012 to fall 2017, Boise State University had ten students complete suicide. In January
2018, two Boise State students completed suicide. Students, faculty, and staff at Boise State University are severely
impacted by each completed suicide; often, the campus community is left with feelings of sadness, frustration, unease,
and uncertainty due to limited awareness and access to support resources for mental health and substance abuse.
Current efforts at Boise State are disjointed and lacking coordination: there is no central office currently maintaining
primary responsibility for training and education, there are gaps in campus-wide policies and protocols, and limited
collaboration between area hospitals and other community agencies. The project name centers on one of Boise State’s
Shared Values of Caring. The purpose and use of grant funds will be to develop comprehensive, coordinated, and
sustainable suicide prevention efforts on the Boise State campus. To achieve this purpose, Boise State has established
four primary goals:

(1) Implement evidence-based programming to increase campus awareness of warning signs and
high-risk behavior associated with suicide and mental illness.

(2) Decrease the number of students seriously considering suicide by implementing a comprehensive wellness model that promotes help-seeking amongst diverse student
groups.

(3) Increase the University’s capacity to provide students a continuum of care post-hospitalization to reduce the
number of acute crises.

(4) Increase outreach efforts to students at high-risk with mental health and substance abuse
needs.

Measurable objectives for this program include increased education, training, and outreach for the campus
community, increased utilization of mental health and substance use screening tools, a more streamlined approach to
identifying and responding to mental health concerns, and increased collaboration with community providers to help
support a continuum of care for Boise State students. These strategic efforts will strengthen infrastructure, community
relationships, promotion of wellness and help-seeking, and outreach to vulnerable student populations, with a focus of
student veterans. Boise State is committed to implementing a comprehensive prevention program to help meet student
needs. Estimated number of people to be served in year one of the project – 700, year two – 3300, and year three – 4000.
Total number of people served: 8,000.