Pomona College

The Claremont Colleges Suicide Prevention Project (TCC-SPP) The Claremont Colleges (TCC or 7Cs) is a consortium
of seven institution with a shared counseling center. Each institution has developed individual approaches to educate
students and their campus communities about substance abuse, suicide prevention, and mental health. TCC and
Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services (MCAPS) recognize that there are an increasing number of students
arriving on campus emotionally underprepared for higher education. Pomona College will be the lead college for this
consortial application. The goals of this project are to develop a coherent comprehensive mental health network to
decrease suicides, suicide attempts, and high-risk behaviors such as substance use. We propose to develop consistent
mental health policies and procedures across TCC, building on the JED Campus Mental Health Model. The project
also aims to increase help-seeking behaviors and increase campus and community capacity to identify and support
students at risk for suicide. Currently, there are approximately 6,000 undergraduates and 2,562 graduate students,
with 57.6 percent female and 42.4 percent male students. MCAPS is experiencing increased demands in services.
Last academic year, one of the TCC experienced a substance use overdose, one suicide, and seventy four alcohol related
hospitalizations. The proposed project aims to strengthen TCC network infrastructure by

(1) Developing more shared resources and programs to increase gatekeepers, to raise mental health and substance abuse awareness,
and to enhance resources that destigmatize help seeking for the approximate 8,562 TCC students

(2) Establishing a JED Campus Advisory Committee with a particular focus on students of color, veterans, first-generation, low-income,
and DACAmented students

(3) Strengthening our clinical provider referral network in the surrounding community by developing a feedback system and a brochure for local hospitals with TCC pre-and post-hospitalization education

(4)Developing and implementing a common peer-based gatekeeper training for faculty, students, and staff to respond
effectively to students with mental and substance use disorder, particularly for first-year students at orientations across
all seven campuses

(5) Fostering targeted collaborations with offices serving specific identity groups in order to create
culturally appropriate training for these groups to identify students at risk

(6) Partnering with student organizations to raise suicide prevention awareness and create a social media campaign to link substance use and mental health.

Online support programs and outreach workshops to help students develop positive coping strategies and resiliency
will complement these activities by implementing TAO and Morneau Shepells International Student Support Program
for international students. We will increase the knowledge of available on-and-off campus resources, with particular
emphasis on the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Objectives will be assessed through annual tracking of numbers
of individuals attending gatekeeper and outreach activities. Our overall intent in implementing TCC-SPP is to shift the
culture of TCC toward a more engaged and responsive awareness that each student matters and is part of a caring
community.