As suicide rates continue to rise in Connecticut, a growing number of college campuses—including Southern Connecticut State University—are training students to help prevent it.
Using a nationally recognized method called Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), students are learning how to recognize warning signs, ask direct questions, and connect someone in crisis to professional care. “You don’t have to be a counselor or therapist to help someone,” said Erin Duff, Southern’s wellbeing specialist. “You just have to be willing to pay attention and step in when something feels off.”
Since 2022, Southern has trained more than 340 students and staff through 90-minute, in-person sessions. Campuses across the state, including UConn, Central Connecticut State University, University of New Haven, and CT State Community Colleges, are following suit—supported by organizations like Connecticut Children’s Youth Suicide Prevention Center, which has trained over 1,000 participants since 2022.
These efforts are part of a broader, statewide approach to suicide prevention, coordinated through the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board and grounded in the state’s latest Suicide Prevention Plan. Programs like Fresh Check Day, a peer-based mental health fair, also help normalize the conversation.
The goal: equip everyday students with the tools to notice, ask, and refer—because even one trained peer could be the difference in someone’s life.
📰 Read the full story on CT Community News
The Connecticut Student Journalism Collaborative is supported by journalism departments at colleges and universities across the state and aims to provide a pipeline between student journalists and professional newsrooms.
