The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention grant program. The purpose of this program is to develop a comprehensive, collaborative, well-coordinated, and evidence-based approach to: (1) enhance services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness, and/or substance use disorders that can lead to school failure; (2) prevent mental and substance use disorders; (3) promote help-seeking behavior and reduce stigma; and (4) improve the identification and treatment of at-risk college students so they can successfully complete their studies. It is expected that this program will reduce the adverse consequences of serious mental illness and substance use disorders, including suicidal behavior, substance-related injuries, and school failure.

The 2015-2016 AUCCCD Public Directors’ Survey reported that among college students who seek counseling, anxiety was the most predominant and increasing concern (50.6%); followed by depression (41.2%); relationship concerns (34.4%); suicidal ideation (20.5%); self-injury (24.2%); and alcohol abuse (9.5%)[1]. Wu and colleagues in 2007 showed that 1 in 5 college students met past year criteria for an alcohol use disorder, but only 3.9% of these students received services of any kind.[2] The 2016 Healthy Minds Study (HMS) indicated that 36% of college students report having at least one mental health diagnosis.[3] Data from the National Collegiate Health Assessment (NCHA) 2016 Executive Summary demonstrated that 10.4% of students seriously considered suicide any time within the last twelve months and 1.9% attempted suicide within the same time period.[4] This grant was developed with these concerning statistics in mind.