JED hosted Fresh Check Day back in October in order to encourage positive mental health. Photo by Anna Meassick.
As of October, the University of Rhode Island is a part of a nationwide program called the JED program that looks to improve mental health, substance abuse
After joining the program, URI put together a committee of 23 staff members to study how JED can best be utilized at URI.
Dr. Christopher Nisan, the medical director at health services, and Lindsey Anderson, director of URI’s psychology consultation center, are the chairs of the committee. In January, the committee completed JED’s self-assessment tool to identify the campus’ strengths and weaknesses in areas of mental health.
There are several mental health initiatives already in place at the University of Rhode Island. These include the Be 5k run/walk, which raises awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. Fresh Check Day, another initiative, is an uplifting mental health and suicide prevention event part of the Jordan Porco foundation.
Additionally, URI health services has collaborated with South County Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies to achieve a goal of zero suicides in Washington County, which consists of Narragansett, North Kingstown, West Kingstown and more.
Furthermore, URI was the first University in the state to adopt Mental Health First Aid training. The University currently has over 800 trained staff members.
“There are a lot of resources out there addressing mental health on campus, which is great.” said Nisan. “But one of our challenges is making sure everyone is working as a team and sharing those resources. If a student is having a problem, any door they turn to should be the one that gets them where they need to go. That’s what we are working on campus.”
It was Governor Gina Raimondo’s idea to join the JED initiative. After recent suicides, Raimondo made a pledge to the state to increase mental health awareness. The Vice President of Student Affairs, Kathy Collins, enrolled URI in the program in an effort to continue supporting mental health resources on campus.
Mental health problems in teens and young adults is skyrocketing. Psychologists consider many different reasons this may be happening, yet have no definite answer.
“Some of the biggest issues for college students are issues around mental health,” said Nisan. “Whether it be a medical problem like depression or anxiety, or simply just stress. It is a very common issue on campus.”
After spring break, JED will send out the Healthy Minds survey to students. The JED will then review the results of the survey and the self-assessment, then will meet with URI in May to discuss these results. The committee will help form a plan of action to enforce efforts addressing mental health.
“We really are doing some really great leadership stuff, but the coordination and the integration of the program is where the JED assessment is really critical,” said David Lavalle, the assistant director of the Department of Marketing and Communications.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, visit the University’s Counseling Center, Psychology Consultation Center or Couples and Family Therapy Clinic on campus.