More about ConnectWellMU
In 2018, Monmouth University received it’s second Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant (GLS), from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Monmouth University is one of only 21 college campuses to ever receive a second GLS grant which is a testament to the important work Monmouth has done regarding suicide prevention on campus. Connect to Wellness at Monmouth University: A Competent Community Initiative (CONNECTWELLMU) is a comprehensive program to address the mental health, health, and substance use issues that lead to increased risk for suicide and suicide-related behavior among college students, including military-affiliated (still in service)/veteran, first-generation, transfer, and graduate students. CONNECTWELLMU widens our safety-net and competent community by expanding the connections between campus service providers, between students and services, and between the community and campus to create a deeper level of protection for students experiencing mental health and substance use issues, or those at-risk for suicide.
The goals set out in this initiative are to improve the connection/infrastructure between students and appropriately trained behavioral healthcare providers who treat mental health and substance use disorders; improve college students’, faculty, and staff’s ability to effectively respond to college students with mental health and substance use disorders; improve early identification of students at-risk for mental health and substance use issues; and increase awareness of available mental health and substance use services on- and off-campus. The CONNECTWELLMU website hopes to connect the entire campus community (current students, faculty/staff/administration, parents and families, and alumni) with resources on all things wellness.
In 2012, Monmouth University received its first GLS grant, Promoting Wellness and Resiliency on Campus which focused on training of students, faculty, staff, as well as campus and off-campus clinical providers in the identification of suicide risk, how to get connected with a mental health provider, and risk assessment and management. The PWR grant ended in 2016. After receiving a private donation, the SRF Suicide Prevention Research and Training Project was formed in the School of Social Work in January 2017. The SRF project continues to identify the suicide prevention and mental health education needs of a variety of stakeholders including youth, college students, law enforcement, spiritual leaders, and clinical providers. The SRF project conducts original research and uses that knowledge to develop programs and resources for various stakeholders.