WHEREAS, Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college and university students;

WHEREAS, The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s research strategy for reducing national suicide rates by demonstrated suicide prevention programs can reduce college suicide rates on campus by forty percent.

Be it therefore RESOLVED that the {insert state}  Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, in conjunction with the institutions of higher education in {State} be encouraged to offer free suicide prevention materials, including program information on their websites, and to provide incoming students with information about mental health topics, including local suicide prevention and depression resources.

Be it further RESOLVED that the [State/Commonwealth] of {State} encourages each institution of higher education to develop and implement a policy and programs to advise students and staff on suicide prevention programs available on and off campus, including, but not limited to:

(1) Crisis intervention access, which shall include information for national, state, and local suicide prevention hotlines;

(2) Mental health program access, which shall provide information on the availability of local mental health clinics, student health services, and counseling services;

(3) Multimedia application access, which shall include crisis hotline contact information, suicide warning signs, resources offered, and free-of-cost applications;

(4) Student communication plans, which shall consist of creating outreach plans regarding educational and outreach activities on suicide prevention; and

(5) Post-vention plans, which shall consist of creating a strategic plan to communicate effectively with students, staff, and parents after a loss of a person to suicide.

Be it further RESOLVED that each state institution of higher education be encouraged to make available to all incoming students information about mental health topics, including depression and suicide prevention resources available to all students. This information provided to students should include available mental health services and other support services, including student-run organizations for individuals at risk of or affected by suicide.