ABOUT OUSPP

The Oregon University Suicide Prevention Project (OUSPP) is a joint effort by all eight public universities in Oregon to reduce suicide risk on our campuses. We believe that suicide is often preventable, and we’ve developed a multifaceted program to raise awareness on our campuses and to assist at-risk students in receiving appropriate help.

Consortium members include Eastern Oregon University; Oregon Health Sciences University; Oregon Institute of Technology; Oregon State University; Portland State University; Southern Oregon University; University of Oregon and Western Oregon University.

In Fall 2005, OUSPP received a 3-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. The purpose of the grant program is to support suicide prevention efforts by college campuses, states, tribal youth and early intervention programs.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among college students. In 2002, Oregon ranked 19th in the nation for youth suicides, ages 10-24 (Centers for Disease Control, 2004). In 1997, the CDC reported that10.3% of college students surveyed considered suicide during the previous 12 months. 6.7% actually made plans to kill themselves.

To reduce suicide risk on campus, the OUSPP’s multifaceted effort will include the following: 1) raising awareness among students, faculty and staff about suicide risk, warning signs and treatment resources, 2) providing training for health and mental health staff on “best practices” for identifying and working effectively with suicidal students, 3) training campus gatekeepers who are uniquely positioned to identify students at-risk for suicide and to refer them for professional help, and 4) establishing suicide task forces on each campus to develop suicide prevention and postvention plans and to reduce the means for suicide on campus.