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Suicide Prevention

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Counseling Services

Building D, Room D-216

p: (201) 684-7522

Please review the resources below to learn important crisis information and ways to get involved in suicide prevention:

Mental Health Emergency/Crisis Resources
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
Suicide Prevention Trainings
Other Resources

Mental Health Emergency/Crisis Resources

There are both on and off campus resources that you can use if experiencing a mental health emergency.

Ramapo Counseling Services Offers Emergency Counseling 24/7/365.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency during business hours (M-F 8:30-4:30), please come to D-216 or call our main line at 201-684-7522 to be connected with our emergency on-call therapist. Alternatively, you may call 911 or go to your local emergency room.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency after the office has closed (nights after 4:30 pm or weekends), simply call the main line at 201-684-7522 and follow the prompt (“Press 2”) for immediate assistance. Alternatively, you may call 988, 911, or go to your local emergency room.

There are a variety of crisis hotlines for anyone experiencing a mental health emergency.

The Suicide & Crisis Hotline:
- Call or text “988” to be connected with an emergency counselor if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. 988 is confidential, free, and available 24/7/365. Confidentiality is limited in instances where a caller is an imminent danger to themselves or others.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Textline – Text START to 741-741
NJ Hopeline (24/7 Peer Support and Suicide Prevention Hotline); 1-855-654-6735 or text njhopeline@ubhc.rutgers.edu
2ndFloor Youth Helpline for NJ residents aged 10-24: call or text 1-888-222-2228
Trevor Lifeline for LGBTQ+ Young People Under 25: call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678
Trans Lifeline Peer Support Hotline, 1-877-565-8860
- Hotline operators will go on a two-week break from December 18 to January 1st
- As of January 1st, 2024, Trans Lifeline’s hotline operating hours will be Monday through Friday, 1 pm to 9 pm EST
RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline – 800-656-HOPE (4673)
healingSPACE 24/7 sexual violence crisis intervention hotline (say that you are a Ramapo student) – 1-201-487-2227
Veterans Crisis line: Dial 988 then press “1” or text 838-255

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

Ramapo’s 2024 for theme is Changing the Narrative on Suicide. Below are events in September to raise awareness on suicide, promote mental health resources, and to foster connection, healing, and hope. Let’s change the narrative together, and decrease the stigma surrounding suicidal thoughts, attempts, and loss.

National Suicide Prevention Month Event Calendar

Ask, Listen, Refer Drawing for $50 Gift Card

Complete Ask, Listen, and Refer, Ramapo’s online suicide prevention training during the fall semester for a chance to win a $50 gift card. If 200+ students participate, the gift card will be $100. Tell your friends!

The training is approximately 20 minutes. The winner will be announced at the final therapy animal visit of the semester on December 12th in Friends Hall.

To enter, please email your certificate of completion to studentwellness@ramapo.edu during the fall semester.

National Suicide Prevention Month Opening Proclamation

Date: Tuesday, 9/10/24 (World Suicide Prevention Day)
Location: Arch (Rain or excessive heat: Friends Hall)
Time: 1:15 pm to 2 pm
Rain/Heat location: Friends Hall

Questions? Email studentwellness@ramapo.edu.

Munchkins’ and Maslow: Exploring Basic Needs and Suicide Prevention

Join the We Care program to learn more about the connection between financial insecurity and suicide. At this tabling event, you will learn about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and why we need our basic needs met for health and happiness.

Date: Monday, September 16th
Time: 1 pm
Location: Student Center

Questions? Email wecare@ramapo.edu.

Words of Hope

Join Counseling Services for a chance to chalk the pathways in the grove with words of positivity and hope to promote health seeking and mental health. Students will be able to register for Togetherall, an anonymous peer support community. Learn more about Togetherall here.

Swing by the event from 1 to 3 pm to meet and pet some adorable animals from Creature Comfort Pet Therapy. Rain location for the animals is the C-Wing Underpass.

Date: Wednesday, 9/18/24
Time: 12 pm to 3 pm
Location: The Arch/Grove
Rain Date: Wednesday, 9/25 12:00 to 3:00 pm

Questions? Email studentwellness@ramapo.edu.

Rainbow Rejuvenation: Self Care with Elena Yee, the LGBTQIA+ Liaison in Counseling Services

Start your semester off sweet by making a rainbow candy bag and decorating a self-care plan. In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, Counseling Services’ LGBTQIA+ Liason, Elena Yee, is hosting this supportive event for folks in the LGBTQIA+ community who are more at risk for suicide. All are welcome to attend to reflect, talk with Elena Yee, LPC, and and connect with other students.

This event is proudly cosponsored by the Women’s Center and LGBTQ+ Services.

Date: Tuesday, 9/24
Time: 3 to 5 pm
Location: Multicultural Center

Glow for Hope

Join Counseling Services and the Roadrunner Collegiate Recovery Program. This event begins with a silent candle light vigil by the Arch to remember those who have lost their lives to suicide and/or substance use disorders. Then, we will walk, stroll, or roll as a group to Laurel Courts for a hope-filled evening of music, food, and sober activities like lawn games, volleyball, and glow in the dark items. Through this event, we are creating light in darkness.

There will also be tables with information on mental health/substance use resources and information to donate and/or sign up participate with the Ramapo Team in the Out of the Darkness Walk for Bergen County.

Date: Thursday, 9/26
Location: The Arch followed by Laurel Courts
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm

This is event is proudly cosponsored by the Center for Student Involvement, WRPR Radio, Alpha Phi Omega, the Association of Latinos Moving Ahead, and the Student Government Organization.

We are currently seeking cosponsors for this event! Student groups, please email studentwellness@ramapo.edu

Journal Your Journey: Creative Self Care with Dr. Cesar León, the Multicultural Specialist in Counseling Services

Start your semester with a guided journaling event! In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, Dr. Cesar León, the Multicultural Specialist from Counseling Services, will provide a safe space for students of color to express their creativity and prioritize their mental health. Participants will have the opportunity to decorate their own journals, connect with peers, and engage in discussions on culturally relevant mental health topics with Dr. León. Everyone is welcome to join.

Date: Monday, 9/30
Time: 12 to 2 pm
Location: The Multicultural Center

This is event is proudly cosponsored by the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Compliance (EDIC).

Out of Darkness Walk (Walk to prevent suicide)

Join Ramapo College Counseling Services in preventing suicide and supporting those who have been affected by it during the Bergen County Out of Darkness Walk! Through donations the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention aims to reduce the suicide rate 20% by 2025.

Date: Sunday, 10/13/24
Location: Saddle River County Park – Otto C. Pehle Playground, Saddle Brook, NJ
Check-in Time: 9am
Walk Start Time: 10am

Register to walk with the Ramapo Team and/or donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention here. Donations are encouraged but not required to walk. Limited transportation will be provided. If you’d like to attend but need transportation, or if you have any questions, please email studentwellness@ramapo.edu.

We are currently seeking cosponsors for this event! please email studentwellness@ramapo.edu.

Is your club or organization participating in an event or initiative for National Suicide Prevention Month in September 2024? Email studentwellness@ramapo.edu for Counseling Services or Wellness Is Now to have your questions answered or for co-sponsorship to have your event be added to the calendar!

Suicide Prevention Trainings

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for college students. Counseling Services offers two suicide-prevention trainings for the Ramapo community. If your department, organization, or club would like to take action to help prevent suicide, consider participating in the two training opportunities below.

Campus Connect

Campus Connect is a free training that provides gatekeepers with information and strategies to help prevent suicide, and refer students to campus and community resources. Counseling Services staff utilizes experiential exercises, including an emphasis on acknowledging and working with gatekeepers own fears about suicide. Campus connect prepares faculty, staff, and students with an opportunity to learn about suicide prevention, and practice strategies for interacting with a student who is in crisis.

A Campus Connect gatekeeper training is approximately 3 hours and includes:

Review of college student suicide statistics and facts
Discussion of suicide myths and warning signs
Instruction on how to ask students if they are thinking about suicide and how to refer students to mental health professionals
Review of effective communication and relationship-building skills
Discussion of typical emotional reactions experienced both by students in crisis and responding gatekeepers
Participation in four experiential exercises
Participation in a guided group role play

REQUEST CAMPUS CONNECT TRAINING HERE

Please reach out to Counseling Services for more information at (201) 684-7522.

Ask Listen Refer

Ask Listen Refer: An Online Suicide Prevention Training

Ask.Listen.Refer is a free training available for faculty, staff and students. This training helps users:

identify people at risk for suicide
recognize the risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs of suicide
respond to and get help for people at risk

This program takes about 20 minutes to complete. It is intended to be educational rather than therapeutic, and it must be completed in one sitting. Logging in and out of the program may cancel your progress and prevent you from obtaining your certificate of completion.

Ask, Listen, Refer can be facilitated in-person. If you are requesting the facilitation to occur after 5 pm, please partner with at least one other organization for the facilitation to be approved. You can request an in-person Ask, Listen, Refer facilitation here.

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE ASK LISTEN REFER ONLINE