Updated: Sept. 25 at 6:05 p.m.
As suicide prevention months nears an end, Temple has been designated as a certified suicide prevention institution by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The classification, which the university received in August, comes after a yearslong investment into student well-being on campus, including the formation of the division of health and wellness, which was created to consolidate several on-campus wellness resources into one area. Only six other Pennsylvania universities share the recognition.
In order to receive the designation, an institution must create and submit a suicide prevention plan containing six requirements outlined by the state. These include 24/7 crisis intervention services, outreach plans to provide mental health services to students in need and, in the event that a student were to take their own life, post-intervention plans to handle the aftermath of an event.
Mark Denys, associate provost of health and well being, stressed that students will never be denied access to mental health resources on campus.
“I will say that the wait time for individual counseling — there is no wait time,” Denys said. “Students are seen the same day or the next day and it’s all free.”
Lindsey Hoffman, president of Temple’s chapter of Active Minds, a student organization focused on promoting wellness and discussing mental health topics, said that part of promoting a positive culture around mental health on campus includes talking about suicide itself and other difficult topics.
“Active Minds has its own suicide prevention program which is called ‘ASK’,” said Hoffman, a public health major. “‘A’ stands for ‘acknowledge’; ‘S’ stands for ‘support’, and ‘K’ stands for ‘keep in touch’. I think it’s a really great way to implement suicide prevention strategies in your day-to-day life.”
Mental health discussions on campus are especially important in reaching students of color. Within many Asian cultures, mental health issues are often stigmatized, which can lead individuals who may be suffering to attempt to ignore the issue, according to the American Psychology Association.
The COVID-19 pandemic exasperated feelings of loneliness and continues to have its effects today. American adults report feelings of anxiety and depression double as much today compared to before the pandemic, according to the House Pulse Survey, a Census Bureau tool.
Andrew Lee, director of Tuttleman Counseling Services, started Togetherall, an online peer support program through Tuttleman. Togetherall is focused on combating feelings of loneliness, and operates similarly to Reddit, where students who are struggling can make anonymous posts about their situation and hopefully connect with other students in similar situations.
Togetherall is just one part of the university’s multi-pronged strategy at providing wellness services at every hour.
“We do support even after-hours,” Lee said. “If you call our main number after five o’clock or on weekends, you get connected to our after hours support line. [The crisis line exists] if students need that support at one in the morning, two in the morning, three in the morning, because we know that mental health concerns don’t necessarily follow the [standard business day].”
Hoffman believes one of the challenges students face in accessing resources on campus is learning about the resources available to them.
“I think Temple has done a great job so far with the resources they offer,” Hoffman said. “I think the next step, since they already have the resources in their toolbox, is to get the word out to students and staff and people in the Temple community. I know we are always on our phones and on social media, so I think they can utilize that to get the word out.”
Tuttleman Counseling Services recently hired a social media manager to help with marketing as one part of the strategy to reach students and address this issue.
“We try a lot of things because I know it’s not just one size fits all,” Denys said. “[For example] we got the Bell Tower highlighted in teal to recognize suicide prevention awareness month. Hopefully, some students ask the question, ‘Why is the Bell Tower in teal?’ and somebody will answer them.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misidentified Tuttleman Counseling Service’s Togetherall initiative. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.
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