NCDHHS & UNC Partner for Expanded Suicide Prevention Training in NC

In an effort to enhance mental health support on campuses, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is teaming up with the UNC School of Social Work. Their collaborative initiative aims to make suicide prevention training more accessible to students across the state’s university and community college systems by the 2026-27 academic year.

Expanding Mental Health First Aid Training

The initiative, titled “Building Capacity and Expanding Access to Suicide Prevention Training for NC Colleges and Universities,” will be spearheaded by Alicia Freeman and Paul Lanier. Freeman and Lanier are key figures in the existing UNC Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program.

“Expanding this training to universities and community colleges will help reach young adults when they are at their most vulnerable,” noted NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. “The pressures of school and worries about their future can cause undue stress. Mental Health First Aid brings the right help at the right time to people who need it.”

Kelly Crosbie, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, emphasized the importance of this effort, stating, “When someone knows how to recognize when a student is struggling and how to offer support, it can truly change the path forward. That’s the kind of impact we want to make across North Carolina.”

Addressing a Critical Need

Suicide rates in North Carolina highlight the urgent need for such training. Data from the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System from 2014-2023 reveals that males aged 20-24 have a suicide rate of 26.6 per 100,000, nearly double that of males aged 15-19. Among females, the rate increases by 33% between the same age groups.

Freeman remarked on the transformative impact of the MHFA program at UNC, stating, “College is such a pivotal transition and peak time of development for students ages 18–25. Increasing mental health literacy has reduced stigma and increased help-seeking.”

Comprehensive Training and Outreach

The MHFA program, which has trained over 4.5 million people in the U.S., educates individuals on supporting those with mental health or substance use challenges. North Carolina is one of the states actively promoting this program through policy and funding.

The project aims to conduct at least 50 MHFA training sessions across North Carolina by June 2027. The goal is to reach 15 institutions, train 600 participants, and certify at least 20 new MHFA instructors. Additionally, NCDHHS employees will receive training, with five sessions planned to reach at least 100 participants.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will be responsible for marketing these training opportunities on campuses.

Building on Past Success

Since 2015, the UNC School of Social Work has collaborated with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing to host the MHFA program. The UNC campus-based initiative has already provided 223 training sessions to over 3,418 participants since summer 2022. A follow-up survey revealed that 98% of respondents would recommend the training to others.

“We now have solid evidence that people who have taken this training at UNC are quickly putting the skills to work on campus,” said Lanier. “As we expand training, the likelihood that someone experiencing a crisis will interact with someone trained in MHFA increases substantially‚ and that has the potential to save lives.”