University of Tennessee – Knoxville

The VolAware Suicide Prevention Initiative will target students with a mental health condition, students under 21, males, LGBT students, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. The activities will target the campus; however, media, the internet, and e-mail will allow social marketing messages and educational literature to reach parents/families, commuter students, and students studying abroad. Critical first responders and gatekeepers will be trained in QPR.

The objective of the project will be achieved through six activities: (1) First Responder QPR training; (2) Gatekeeper QPR training, designed for those who can play a critical role in identifying and referring at-risk students, (3) in-service training to augment the knowledge and skills of mental health professionals on campus, (4) professional development training for University of Tennessee (UT) student affairs staff to build basic skills at identifying and referring at-risk students; (5) development and dissemination of informational literature for parents/families of UT students to educate them about mental health issues; and (6) a coordinated social marketing campaign targeted at undergraduate studentsâ€‖ preferred media (radio stations, campus newspaper, posters) with a goal of raising awareness, decreasing stigma, and promoting help seeking.