A North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) contract will help the UNC School of Social Work expand access to suicide prevention training to colleges and universities across the state.
Alicia Freeman, UNC Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) campus-based program manager, and Paul Lanier, the school’s L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families, will lead the project, “Building Capacity and Expanding Access to Suicide Prevention Training for NC Colleges and Universities.”
The project was awarded $464,290 and begins this July, running through June 2027.
The project aims to deliver MHFA trainings to North Carolina colleges and universities and NCDHHS employees.
“College is such a pivotal transition and peak time of development for students ages 18–25,” Freeman said. “We’ve seen an amazing culture shift at UNC over the past four years through the work of our MHFA program. Increasing mental health literacy has reduced stigma and increased help-seeking, so I am excited to be able to reach more students pursuing higher education and impact campuses across North Carolina.”
Developed in 2001 by Betty Kitchener and Anthony Jorm in Australia, Mental Health First Aid teaches individuals how to support people experiencing mental health or substance use challenges. The program has trained more than 4.5 million people in the United States. More than 30 states – including North Carolina – have enacted policies and funding to prioritize MHFA.
The research- and evidence-based program trains people in how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use issues, helping them to start conversations until professional care is available. The training covers common signs of mental health and substance use challenges, how to interact with a person in crisis, and how to connect a person with support resources.
Project goals
During the next year, the project will provide at least 50 MHFA training sessions for North Carolina colleges and universities, with the goal of reaching at least 15 institutions, training 600 participants and at least 20 new MHFA instructors.
The training will also be offered to NCDHHS employees. The team hopes to host five NCDHHS-specific trainings while reaching at least 100 participants.
The team will collaborate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on campuses throughout the state to market and promote training opportunities. NAMI leaders will engage students on campus with building capacity to support mental health across UNC system schools and state community college campuses.
UNC as mental health leader
The UNC School of Social Work has served as a partner and program site for MHFA with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing since 2015.
The UNC MHFA campus-based program has provided 223 trainings, reaching more than 3,418 individuals since the summer of 2022. Last year, the team developed a follow-up survey with MHFA trainees – the first of its kind on a university campus – and found 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. 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.”
Paul Lanier, L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families, UNC School of Social Work
The program will serve faculty, staff and students on campus, as well as youth and adults across all 100 counties in North Carolina.
Impact potential
The project aligns with several state priorities and programs, including the state’s Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services strategic plan. By increasing access to care and building the workforce through training new instructors, the project will strengthen the state’s crisis services system.
“We are excited about this partnership,” said Kelly Crosbie, assistant secretary for NCDHHS’ Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services. “The program will strengthen our statewide crisis response system by bringing proven Mental Health First Aid training to those who can reach young adults in crisis.
“Expanding this work across campuses and our workforce is the right thing to do. It will bring needed support to young adults, including Black youth who too often face limited access to culturally sensitive mental health care. It also advances our priorities of early identification and effective intervention to help build a stronger mental health system in North Carolina.”
The project will also support strategic initiatives that are part of the 2026-30 North Carolina Suicide Prevention Action Plan. This includes leading suicide prevention work, providing community helper training, and providing mental health training and education for college and university-age populations, among others.
Freeman and Lanier added that the project will support objectives included in the state’s Black Youth Suicide Prevention Action Plan, specifically with young adults ages 18-24.
Freeman was previously recognized for her work with MHFA with the 2026 Mental Health First Aid Coordinator of the Year award from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Source:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
