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SAMHSA Awards 37 Grants Totaling $9.7 Million for Suicide Prevention

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced 37 grants with a first year total of $9.7 million to support national suicide prevention efforts. These grants will support a suicide prevention resource center, suicide prevention efforts on college campus, and state and tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention programs across the country.

“The need for these new programs is great. Last year alone approximately 900,000 youth had made plans to commit suicide during their worst or most recent episode of major depression, and 712,000 attempted suicide during such an episode of depression,” said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. “These new grants were made possible through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act for youth suicide prevention programs signed by President Bush last October and will help invigorate our national effort to prevent suicide.”

“Every dollar that helps heal those battling life-threatening depression brings us closer to saving our children and families,” Sen. Gordon Smith said. “Young people can be lost in the deep darkness of mental illness and these programs will help find sufferers and get them life saving help.”

The three grant programs will be administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center:

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) grant will fund and operate a national resource center to assist State, Territories, Tribes, communities and SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services grantees in their efforts to plan for the development, implementation and evaluation of suicide prevention programs. The grant was awarded to the Education Development Center, Inc. of Newton, Massachusetts. The annual award is expected to be almost $2.6 million per year for five years depending upon funding availability.

Campus Suicide Prevention Grants:

The Campus Suicide Prevention Grants will support institutions of higher education to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems. The Campus Suicide Prevention Grants program is authorized under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. The awards will range up to $75,000 per year for up to three years, with an equivalent match from the application organization. Continuation of these awards is subject to availability of funds, as well as the progress achieved by the grantees.

This year’s 22 Campus Suicide Prevention grantees and their award amounts are as follows:

University of California—Berkeley,CA $74,521
University of Guam – Mangilao, Guam $75,000
Syracuse University – Syracuse, New York, $75,000
University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, $75,000
University of Oregon – Eugene, $75,000
University of California – Irvine, $75,000
Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, $73,186
Research Foundation of SUNY, Albany, $74,901
Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, $75,000
Daytona Beach Community College, Daytona Beach, $25,050
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, $63,669
Arizona State University Board of Regents, Tempe, $75,000
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, $68,088
George Washington University, Washington, DC, $74,951
South Dakota School Mines and Technology, Rapid City, $75,000
Pace University, New York, New York, $48,324
Columbia College Chicago, Illinois, $71,540
Keene State College, New Hampshire, $31,490
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, $74,970
Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, $74,987
Howard University, Washington, DC, $75,000
John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., $69,323

State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program:

The State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program will support states and tribes in the development and implementation of statewide or tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies. The awards for 2005 are up to $400,000 per year for three years in total costs. Continuation of these awards is subject to availability of funds, as well as the progress achieved by the grantees. This year’s 14 State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention grantees and their award amounts are:

Native American Rehab Association of NW, Inc., Portland, Oregon, $400,000
Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix, Ariz., $400,000
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, Oklahoma City, Ok, $400,000
Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, Augusta, ME, $399,997
Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA, $400,000
Missouri Department of Mental Health, Jefferson City, MO, $400,000
Tennessee Department of Mental Health, Nashville, TN, $400,000
State of Nevada, Carson City, NV, $400,000
NAMI New Hampshire, Concord, NH, $397, 573
New Mexico Department of Health, Sante Fe, NM, $400,000
Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX, $399,921
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, $388,803
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, $399,787
Department of Public Health and Human Services, Helena, MT, $400,000

SAMHSA, is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions, treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service