Colleges & Universities

Active Minds, Inc. is a student organization dedicated to promote a dialogue about mental health issues on campus and combat the incidence of student suicide. Their Send Silence Packing Campaign uses a traveling exhibit of 1,100 backpacks representing the number of college student lives lost to suicide each year.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has resources for teens and young adults.  The AFSP-produced film It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health is designed to raise awareness about mental health issues commonly experienced by students, and is intended to be used as part of a school’s educational program to encourage help-seeking.

JED Campus is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to guide schools through a collaborative process of comprehensive systems, program, and policy development with customized support to build upon existing student mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention efforts.

Campus Mental Health: Know Your Rights! A guide for students who want to seek help for mental illness or emotional distress, produced by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

Half of Us: A campaign of The Jed Foundation, which initiates a public dialogue to raise awareness about the prevalence of mental health issues on campus and connect students to the appropriate resources to get help. Suicide is among the specific topics addressed.

Healthy Minds Network: This network serves as a resource for secondary and higher education administrators, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public. Based at the University of Michigan, HMN is led by a multi-disciplinary team of scholars from public health, education, medicine, psychology, and information sciences, many of whom are affiliated with the University’s Comprehensive Depression Center.

Jana Marie Foundation empowers young people, especially young women in their teens, to make positive choices, practice self-respect and maintain healthy relationships by providing opportunities for personal growth and self-expression. Through active community engagement and programs like The Stompers Project® and Candid Conversations video series, JMF works to promote mental health and prevent suicide in schools and communities.

Love is Louder was started by The Jed Foundation, MTV and Brittany Snow to support anyone feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone.

The Minding Your Mind Foundation leads initiatives that reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues among adolescents in middle school, high school and college. Their outreach programs enlighten students, families and educators about the warning signs of mental health issues that are so often masked by adolescent behavior. By promoting open dialogue at school and at home, these programs encourage young adults and families to seek the appropriate help.

Suicide in Schools: A Practitioners Guide to Multi-level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention, and Postvention: Utilizing a multi-level systems approach, this book includes step-by-step guidelines for developing crisis teams and prevention programs, assessing and intervening with suicidal youth, and working with families and community organizations during and after a suicidal crisis. 

ULifeline—Student Page (School-Specific): Search for school-specific information.

NAMI on Campus provides information and resources to support students’ mental health and to empower them to take action on their college campuses. It helps to ensure that all students have positive, successful and fun college experiences.

The Trevor Project: The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth

This whitepaper prepared by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2004: Summarizes what we know about suicide and suicide prevention among college and university students, and recommends ways colleges and universities can promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior.

Contains information about mental health issues, including suicide prevention, for veterans, as well as resources for counseling college students who are veterans.

The purpose of the SVA is to provide military veterans with the resources, support, and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education and following graduation.

Veterans Crisis Line: The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text.