NSU Receives Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMSHA) Grant

The NSU Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention (SVP) has been awarded a 3 year/$300,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). The annual award will be matched by the university each year. CPS Associate Professor Scott Poland, Coordinator of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office and Associate SHSS Professor Douglas Flemons, Director of NSU Student Counseling Center, are the co-directors and principle investigators for the grant. The project includes a diverse and accomplished group of individuals including Dr. Erin Procacci (CPS alumnus) who will serve as the grant coordinator and Dr. Christian DeLucia (CPS) will serve as the grant quantitative evaluator.

The grant is a unique opportunity for NSU because of its on campus, off campus and online student populations. The Suicide and Violence prevention team (SVP) recognizes that university students are of an age vulnerable to suicide, thus more in need of training and services. SVP’s goal is to “create a human safety net for the entire NSU community, providing training on prevalence of student suicides, detail the warning signs, demonstrate ways to help suicidal students access to crisis and longer-term mental-health resources. Implementation involves increasing awareness of risk and protective factors and reducing the stigma associated with help-seeking behaviors among students attending classes at the NSU Student Educational Centers (SECs).

For more information on SVP activities, visit the web site at http://www.nova.edu/suicideprevention/index.html