Project Overview

The Canadian Mental Health Association – BC Division (CMHA BC), in partnership with BC’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions (MMHA), invites proposals from publicly-funded post-secondary institutions in BC to engage in campus suicide prevention initiatives. The intent of this project is to assist post-secondary institutions in developing and implementing new or expanded campus suicide prevention frameworks and supporting rollout through the Healthy Minds| Healthy Campuses (HM|HC) community-of-practice network. HM|HC will provide on-demand technical assistance to support these initiatives throughout the duration of the grant project.

Each institution is invited to submit one proposal on behalf of their school(including multiple campuses) that describes how they will utilize the funding to support existing or new suicide prevention initiatives. Proposals should be collaborative in nature and consider a whole campus approach when discussing suicide prevention. Student and cross-departmental input is vital in the application process and throughout the funding term.

*Please note: We understand this is a busy time of year for campuses and the grant proposal application guidelines have been created with this in mind.Applicants are not expected to meet all granting goals or deliverables at the time of the application. Rather, campuses can show that they will be taking into consideration the various guidelines at the time of implementation. The application proposal is flexible and modifications throughout the year can be discussed and considered.

The deadline is January 3rd, 2021.

For any questions or assistance, please email Bakht Anwar at [email protected]

Background

The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions is mandated to guide the transformation of BC’s mental health and addictions system, including prevention and early intervention, youth mental health, and access to appropriate care. The ministry undertakes a collaborative approach and works through cross-sector partnerships in order to meet this mandate. CMHA BC helps maintain and improve mental health for all British Columbians and supports the resilience and recovery of those experiencing mental illness, substance use problems, and addictive behaviour. Through CMHA BC, HM|HC has been identified as a key partner for campus mental health and has been awarded funding to administer these grants. HM|HC is a province-wide community of practice of people who care about promoting mental wellness and healthier relationships with substances within BC post-secondary institutions. This campus-based initiative engages students, service staff, faculty and administrators who learn and work together to build capacity and mechanisms through health promotion principles and a harm reduction framework to advance well-being. CMHA BC and the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) provide ongoing support for this community of practice and will be assisting campuses for these grants.

Granting Goals:

The grants should involve the creation, adaptation, or ongoing support of campus suicide prevention projects that:

address both mental health and substance us and also incorporate a holistic approach by recognizing that campus suicide prevention includes consideration of factors such as social connectedness, crisis management, life skills, financial stability, housing, food security, human rights, safe campus learning environments and campus services
are multi-disciplinary in nature
are evidence-based
follow principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion
are informed by Indigenous, Metis, and First Nations perspectives
include principles of Gender-Based-Analysis-Plus (GBA+):
are culturally sensitive and trauma-informed
are participatory and include the voices of students and their families with lived and living experiences of mental health and substance use issues and/or personal connection to suicide
are accessible and free of cost for campus community members

Payment:

Each institution will be awarded up to $50,000 inclusive of GST.

Eligibility Criteria:

All 25 publicly funded post-secondary institutions in BC are eligible.
Each post-secondary institution may submit one application per institution.
It is expected that applications will be led by student services departments in each institution, and that student services departments will engage in meaningful student collaboration
Please contact us if you have questions about eligibility.

Deadline:

Please submit your 4-page application to [email protected] by midnight on January 3^rd, 2021.

Adjudication:

A subcommittee at CMHA will review and adjudicate the non-competitive grants. Note that CMHA BC Division will be providing ongoing technical assistance and support throughout the duration of the grant.

Download Grant Application Guidelines

Get Involved

Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Info Session

December 10 from 11:30am-1:30pm

This Info Session is held to assist applicants in learning more about best practices in suicide prevention and how to apply them in a campus context. Our expert panel will be available for the first hour to answer any questions from the audience as it relates to suicide prevention and their respective expertise.

During the second hour of the Info Session, the HM|HC Support Team will be available to provide any technical assistance regarding the application. There will also be an opportunity for participants to learn and work collaboratively with one another in small breakout groups.

*Due to the collaborative nature of this Info Session, it will be held via Zoom.

Through this session, you will:

Learn about best practices in suicide prevention and how to apply them in a campus context
Participate in a Q&A with the expert panelists
Receive technical assistance from HM|HC Support Team
Work collaboratively with applicants from different campuses

HM|HC Info Session format:

Info Session with the option to connect over computer audio, chat or phone
Please mute audio after joining
A recording will be made available after the Info Session

*Please note: Due to the application scope of the campus suicide prevention grants, this Info Session is open to post-secondary campus stakeholders in British Columbia only.

Click here to register

Tools and Resources

Grant Application Template

Template to guide grant applicants.

Download Tool

Grant Application Guidelines

The Canadian Mental Health Association’s BC Division (CMHA BC), in partnership with BC’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions (MMHA), invites proposals from publicly-funded post-secondary institutions in BC to engage in campus suicide prevention initiatives focused on student populations.

Download Tool