Care Compass Network is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $625,000 over a 5-year period from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) to implement an evidence-based suicide awareness and prevention training program to four school districts in Broome County, including Union Endicott, Johnson City, Susquehanna Valley and Windsor. Working with a network of partnering organizations, this project is designed to positively impact the health and wellbeing of students who are at risk of self-harm.
Feelings of hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among adolescents has been on the rise. According to a 2019 CDC report, more than half of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and the number of black students who reported attempting suicide rose by almost 50%. This is an alarming trend, which is why Care Compass Network is collaborating with local school districts to provide this critical training to increase mental health awareness, reduce stigma, and promote early identification and intervention.
“This grant will allow us to collaboratively develop a suicide awareness and prevention training plan that will help our local school communities to normalize conversations related to mental health, and to provide early intervention for mental illness and suicide. Through the delivery of evidence-based suicide prevention trainings for students, it is our intention to promote mental health awareness and reduce stigma in these school communities, and to equip students and their Community Network of Safety with the tools they need to promptly identify the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including risk for suicide. Simultaneously, we will work to strengthen the treatment and referral pathways for those where a need has been identified,” shares Lauren Greco, Project Manager, Care Compass Network.
“The pandemic and its devastating impacts on the mental health and well-being of our community, especially for our children, was at the forefront when we began developing the framework in late 2020. This tiered based framework builds upon our previous work under the NYS Medicaid DSRIP which will strengthen and support our educational community’s ability and capacity through the delivery of evidence-based trainings, creation/development of a closed-loop communication workflow, and train-the-trainer program for sustainability. Our intrinsic project outcome is to enhance and promote a community-based referral network: Community Network of Safety to address, intervene, and promote a kinder, more equitable, safer, and trauma responsive environment for both the students, educators, and caregivers,” shared Bouakham Rosetti, Senior Project Manager, Care Compass Network.
Through this project, Care Compass Network and its partners will provide critical training and resources to educators at the participating schools, family members, peers, and other key individuals who work with middle school and high school students. Providing these critical trainings to those closest to the students will help them identify the early warning signs of self-harm and appropriately navigate the student to the resources and support they need, therefore promoting mental wellness while building strong and resilient relationships.