Partner With Us to Help Students Overcome Mental Health Challenges

Over the past 13 years, college students nationally, including those at SUU, have shown rising rates of depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety. During the COVID-19 pandemic, academic distress, eating concerns, and family distress peaked, with only academic distress returning to pre-pandemic levels. Social anxiety has been increasing the most rapidly, with more students seeking counseling services for it.

Mental Health Measures

• 41% - Depression (moderate to severe)
• 34% - Anxiety (moderate to severe)
• 16% - suicidal ideation in the past year
• 8% - specific plan to complete suicide in the past year
• 2% - suicide attempt in the past year
• 34% - self injurious behavior in the past year
• 15% - Risk of eating disorder

Many students face challenges with basic needs like food stability, housing stability, and financial distress.

Basic Physical Needs

• 38% - Problems with food stability (sometimes true to often true)
• 23% - Problems with housing stability (sometimes true to often true)
• 47% - Financial Distress (often true to always true)

Research indicates that individuals who need counseling support often place a heavy burden on their roommates, classmates, friends, and family. But, when students can get the support and counseling they need, they are able to focus on their schooling, better coexist with their roommates, and live a healthier and happier life with their friends and family members. For every student who gets the help they need, many others are also positively impacted.

Relationship Concerns

• 29% - often feel isolated from others
• 25% - often feel left out
• 22% - lack companionship

Research indicates that individuals who need counseling support often place a heavy burden on their roommates, classmates, friends, and family. But, when students can get the support and counseling they need, they are able to focus on their schooling, better coexist with their roommates, and live a healthier and happier life with their friends and family members. For every student who gets the help they need, many others are also positively impacted.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.This training helps us serve these students so they can focus on their schooling and get the help they need to improve their overall wellbeing. The first step is to certify SUU staff in QPR, who then can train students and provide support for students.

We have hundreds of undiagnosed students who may have a psychological or a learning disability. Many students at SUU need evaluations but cannot afford them or cannot access them. These students desperately need financial support to help them receive the appropriate accommodations to help them succeed in college.

Purchase 50 additional Bi-Tapp sets. Students typically check them out for a month at a time. This gift would allow us to serve up to 500 additional students each year.

Bi-Tapp is a patented wearable device that taps for you, regulating your nervous system in real-time, creating a steady state of calm and focus in the very moment you need it. Students are using the tappers to reduce overall anxiety, test anxiety and to improve sleep. Bi-Tapp is used at low, moderate and high levels of distress and anxiety. Having access to a resource in the very moment you need it improves resiliency.

These kits assist student with essentials, safety plans, resource card, t-shirt, sweat pants, underwear, toiletries (soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, feminine hygiene supplies, hairbrush), pen, journal, relaxation stone/ball. These items provide the student with some comfort as they begin to develop a sense of control and normalcy. We would be able to provide kits for 66 students over the next 3 years.

These kits will allow students to practice daily at home until the skill becomes second nature and the support from the Kit is no longer needed. Currently CAPS biofeedback services are available to all enrolled SUU students. We serve approximately 75-100 per year and this number is rising. SUU could serve twice as many students.

This room would be utilized by dozens of students each academic year who are experiencing the most acute distress and will greatly aid in the staff’s ability to calm the students and provide the aid they need.Room options include Bennion Building (once bus addition is complete).

*Naming opportunity available for this space

The addition of 50 Sun Therapy Lamp units will allow us to satisfy the current need, as well as replace damaged units over the course of the next five years.