Carolina launches statewide program focused on improving mental health and reducing suicide
Carolina Across 100 and the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute will facilitate a cohort of cross-sector community collaboratives focused on implementing strategies to prevent suicide and suicidal ideation and improve resources available for mental and behavioral health.
Following the success of its first project addressing youth unemployment, Carolina Across 100 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is partnering with the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute to lower the number of suicides in North Carolina.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 18 in North Carolina, and the third leading cause of death for those ages 19 to 34, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The agency also notes that beyond deaths from completed suicide, people who survive attempted suicides sometimes become seriously injured and in need of both physical and psychological care.
“Every suicide is a tragic event,” said Anita Brown-Graham, Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government at the UNC School of Government. “Our goal with this project is to help North Carolina communities get more involved in prevention efforts.”
Over the next 12 months, Carolina Across 100 and the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute will facilitate a cohort of cross-sector community collaboratives focused on implementing strategies to prevent suicide and suicidal ideation and improve resources available for mental and behavioral health. Participating communities will engage a broad array of organizations, including local government agencies, school systems, institutions of higher education, health care providers as well as faith- and community-based organizations. They will work together to identify community needs and target populations, align existing resources and programs and develop plans to implement evidence-based prevention strategies. The Suicide Prevention Institute will provide participating communities with expertise in selecting the proven interventions that best suit their communities, and then help implement those interventions in an effective and sustainable way.
Communities may apply to participate in the program between June 13 and July 28, 2023. The application is available at https://carolinaacross100.unc.edu/wellbeing.
“Carolina Across 100 is tackling the critical challenges facing the people of North Carolina,” said Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz. “By partnering with local communities and listening to one another, we are finding solutions and collaborating to develop answers together. Suicide is destroying families across our state and this new endeavor will work to address the urgent mental health challenges at its root.”
The UNC Suicide Prevention Institute was created in Sept. 2022 with a $25 million commitment from William and Dana Starling to the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. The gift empowers experts at Carolina to offer innovative and compassionate care to North Carolinians.
Dr. Patrick Sullivan, director of the Suicide Prevention Institute, said, “My team and I are extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Carolina Across 100 on community-based initiatives to prevent suicide. The problem is urgent, and these partnerships offer a fast and effective way to make a difference.”
Carolina Across 100 is a five-year initiative charged by Guskiewicz and housed at the School of Government’s ncIMPACT Initiative. This pan-University effort, guided by the Carolina Engagement Council, will form meaningful partnerships with communities in all 100 North Carolina counties to respond to challenges stemming from or exacerbated by COVID-19.
