Riverside Community College

Project Abstract Riverside City College’s Student Health and Psychological Services serves almost 30,000 students annually. Current gaps in mental health/suicide prevention services are due to: limited staff; limited education/training for faculty/staff on mental health issues; and failure to connect with underserved students. With SAMHSA funds RCC will execute new suicide prevention activities and interventions to reduce the risk of suicide campus-wide. Project Name: RCC’s SAMHSA Project. Population(s) to be served (demographics and clinical characteristics): The entire population of RCC. Specific populations that will be targeted include: low-income, first generation college students, LGBTQI individuals, disabled students, and veterans. Strategies/interventions: A Mental Health Model for Suicide Prevention. Student In-Crisis: (1) if it is determined that the patient is in crisis the therapist may extend the visit with the student for up to 1 hour; (2) at the conclusion of the visit, the therapist may refer the student to one or all of the following: wellness workshops, and/or refer patient to Community Resources Refer patient to LLUDP services-for follow up appointments; (3) the Campus Police will transport the student to the hospital for a Psychiatric (5150) hold. Student Not In-Crisis: (1) referred to Wellness Workshops (topics include stress management, depression, and health relationships). The Mental Health Therapist offers workshops 5 days/week; (2) referred to Loma Linda Doctoral Psychological (LLDP) trainee who is available M, T, W, and F for 4 hours daily; and/or (3) referred patient to Community Resources: (a) Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health: One-Stop Shop CARES Line; (b) University Community Health Center; (c) 24-hour Crisis Hotline; (d) 211 or Connectriverside.org; and (e) Housing and Homeless Shelters; and/or (f) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Project goals: RCC’s goal is to expand mental health services and meet the critical needs of our increasing student population. The overarching goal of this project is to provide a comprehensive public health approach to the issue of suicide prevention. RCC proposes to establish a suicide prevention project that will provide effective gatekeeper and awareness training programs for faculty, staff, and students, and design a crisis intervention plan. Measurable objectives: (1) Train 100 faculty and staff on how to recognize and manage students experiencing mental health distress by end of the grant; and (2) Train 2,000 students to recognize the symptoms of mental health distress by the end of the grant.