If you didn’t already know, the Florida LEADS Project is a five-year, federally-funded research grant operating out of the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida that aims to reform suicide prevention programs and promote suicide prevention awareness. While their target audience is adults aged 25 and over, the goals of the FL LEADS Project can benefit anyone. This is particularly important for college students today, where rates of depression and anxiety are skyrocketing. Research initiatives like the FL LEADS Project can offer much-needed suicide prevention training, insights, and resources for anyone on a college campus.
This summer, I started working with the FL LEADS Project as a social research and marketing intern, where I designed and posted about suicide awareness on social media every week. From comforting posts for survivors of suicide loss to educational posts documenting the steps to become a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, the FL LEADS Project focuses on a broad range of topics related to suicide care practices. As a college student, interning with the FL LEADS Project has been transformative. College campuses are no strangers to stories of suicide; about 24,000 college students attempt suicide each year, making suicide the second-leading cause of death for college students in the U.S. Despite suicide’s prevalence on college campuses, it is frequently overlooked or seen as taboo.
The FL LEADS Project seeks to topple this narrative across the state. According to the project’s website, the three main aims are to “train 5,550 community members and mental health professionals to create a confident and competent workforce,” “empower 650 adults at risk of suicide to seek care, fostering a sense of resiliency and self-efficacy,” and “share 7,500 suicide prevention and social awareness messages to promote help-seeking behaviors.”
Some goals are to “engage agency leaders in Zero Suicide,” “build workforce capacity for Zero Suicide,” “enhance Zero Suicide policies and protocols,” and “provide long-term care transitions.”
For context, Zero Suicide is a holistic framework for agencies and organizations that is seen as the “gold standard’ for suicide prevention practices. Additionally, the FL LEADS Project offers no-cost suicide prevention and intervention trainings, such as Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Zero Suicide (ZS), to the public and community partners. QPR has been proven to increase knowledge of suicide warning signs and strengthen the confidence of people to intervene when they recognize those signs.
“The idea is it’s like CPR for mental health,” said Angelina Whalen, a clinician and Research Associate on the team, regarding QPR training. “You’re not expected to resolve a suicide crisis, and just like CPR, you’re not expected to fix whatever problem the person is having. You’re just supposed to sustain their life until the next step.”
In other words, the FL LEADS Project is actively working to make suicide intervention and prevention practices affordable, accessible, and prevalent across Florida. So, what are some ways you can get involved? According to Whalen, an easy yet effective way to get involved would be to interact with the project on its social media channels. You can follow the FL LEADS Project on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @florida.leads.project.
“I would love for more students to like us, to follow us, to share our content, or to participate in the work that we’re trying to do through any action. Our content is created through insights from those with lived experiences, so we’re trying to bring to life the information that they think is valuable and important, but it’s not helpful to anyone if it’s not viewed and shared.”
Angelina Whalen, FL LEADS Project Research Associate
Additionally, the FL LEADS Project has a research lab with research assistants, marketing internship opportunities for those interested in social media marketing and digital design, and a suicide prevention club at UCF that was created by their previous graduate research assistant, Seva Reilly. HOPE @ UCF is a registered student organization that funds suicide prevention training such as QPR, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, and Mental Health First Aid. Additionally, they offer education, peer support, career panels, and advocacy opportunities for students of all majors. You can also get directly involved with the FL LEADS Project by participating in their monthly community advisory board meetings.
About 91% of U.S. adults believe that suicide is preventable—and it often is. As we work through the fall semester, let’s make an active effort to not only take care of ourselves but also take care of our community. The FL LEADS Project is just one research project of many working tirelessly to prevent and reduce suicide. Let this article serve as your inspiration to get involved, and if not, then to support yourself and your peers.