SANTA FE, NM  [October 7, 2024] St. John’s College has been awarded a three-year $306,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to strengthen the college’s behavior health infrastructure especially for suicide prevention efforts on its Santa Fe campus. The program will support a comprehensive public health and evidence-based approach to behavioral health, including suicide, depression, serious mental illness and substance abuse.

“We know that increasing mental health challenges, including risk of suicide, and, more generally, increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness among young people all reflect a national epidemic. Resource constraints make it hard for most colleges to get out of a reactive posture to the level of need they face,” says St. John’s College Santa Fe President J. Walter Sterling. “The services this grant will enhance or launch reflect St. John’s ongoing commitment to holistic student flourishing and to being a true community of learning, where we support one another.”

The funds will support a Prevention Manager position at St. John’s College, as well as other relevant programming and training. The college acknowledges the support of the University of New Mexico Behavioral Health Sciences during the application process: the organization will continue to partner with St. John’s through the three-year duration of the grant.

The goals of the program are to:

• enhance behavioral health services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbances, and/or substance use disorders that can lead to school failure.

• prevent and reduce suicide and mental and substance use disorders.

• promote help-seeking behavior and reduce stigma.

• improve the identification and treatment of at-risk college students so they can successfully complete their studies.

“As a college community we have invested significantly in identifying students at risk, especially among our LGBTQIA+ population, by creating a supportive structure that encourages wellness, campus engagement, and study-life balance,” said Vice President for Student Engagement Christine Guevara. “Sadly, suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young adults and college students, according to a 2020 study by the CDC. Students with depression or anxiety are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.”

The college, together with its sister campus in Annapolis, Md., has focused on creating an environment of support and, ultimately, of success for its students. This grant will build on recent college efforts, including work on mental health and belonging supported by a grant from the Endeavor Foundation, a financial literacy program that provides Santa Fe students with tools and resources to invest in their future, and the Pritzker Promise Bridge Program, which supports incoming students of diverse backgrounds with additional academic and community supports.

ABOUT ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE

St. John’s College is the most distinctive liberal arts college in the country due to our interdisciplinary program, in which 200 of the most revolutionary great books from across 3,000 years of human thought are explored in student-driven, discussion-based classes for undergraduates, graduates and life-long adult learners. By probing world-changing ideas in literature, philosophy, mathematics, science, music, history, and more, students leave St. John’s with a foundation for success in such fields as law, government, research, STEM, media, and education. Located on two campuses in two historic state capitals—Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico—St. John’s is the third-oldest college in the United States and has been hailed as the “most forward-thinking, future-proof college in America” by Quartz and as a “high-achieving angel hovering over the landscape of American higher education” by the Los Angeles Times. Learn more at sjc.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Frank O’Mahony, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, frank.omahony(at)sjc.edu