HOPE Services Annual Reports

Prevention Services (Now HOPE Services) Annual Report FY23

Marci Young, Psy.D., HOPE Services Director  

1. Prevention Services
2. #WSUWeSupportU Suspenders4Hope®
3. #WeSupportU Suspenders4Hope®
4. Prevention Services Advisory Board (PSAB)
   1. Prevention Ambassadors
5. Applied Learning Opportunities
6. Prevention Grants
7. Community Wellness and Prevention Sciences Academic Courses
8. Areas of Prevention
   1. Promoting Mental Wellness
      • Maintaining well-being, feeling connected and supported, managing stress.
      • Raising awareness of mental health concerns, like eating disorders, body image.
      • Maintaining wellness, healthy sleep, eating, and digital habits; movements.
   2. Prevention Suicide
      • Increasing connections.
      • Providing recognition, intervention, and referral trainings.
      • Improving resiliency and coping tools before a crisis occurs.
      • Supporting survivors of loss.
   3. Preventing Sexual Violence
      • Developing healthy relationships.
      • Obtaining consent.
      • Preventing harmful behaviors, sexual, domestic, and dating violence, stalking.
   4. Preventing Substance Use
      • Reducing harm.
      • Practicing healthy habits.
      • Creating connections and feelings of belonging.
      • Preventing and reducing vaping and intake of alcohol and other drugs.

• Prepared to roll out Health, Outreach, Prevention, and Education (HOPE) Services department and updated documents to demonstrate equal alignment with CAPS and Student Health Services.

• Created and hired Outreach Manager to assist in better coordinating outreach for all departments of the Student Wellness Center.
• Created a Prevention Ambassador Coordinator role and funded by grant funds.

• Presented at two conferences (State Youth Suicide Prevention Conference, Suicide Research Symposium (SRS) Poster Presented with Public Health) regarding our prevention efforts.
• Provided support to the WSU community through engagement in committees (e.g. Clery, Title IX, HRL committees) and consultation on campaigns and projects across the University.
• Served on the planning committee for the annual Kansas Prevention Conference which had attendees from various organizations across Kansas.
• Gained 63,000 impressions through engagement across all social media platforms for CAPS, HOPE Services and Suspsenders4Hope.

• Began a relationship with the McNair Scholar program to evaluate the efficacy of educational and prevention materials.
• Began an undergraduate applied learning research lab for Honors College credit.
• Partnered with the Engineering department to get new LMS system running, increasing accessibility of online materials.
• Collaboration with Elliot School to ensure marketing materials were meeting intended goals and audiences.
• Faculty fellows this year: Suzanne Hawley (Public Health), Huabo Lu (Engineering)

• Prevention Services engaged in 535.9 hours of prevention and outreach and had 14,560 contacts with students, parents, staff/faculty, and community members.
• Continued to have a significant amount of our outreach engagement take place on virtual platforms including livestreams, social media, and Zoom presentations to increase resources for remote students.

• 222 presentations were completed totaling 314 hours and 8,919 contacts (average of 40 people per presentation). These presentations ranged in topics covering our four focus areas.
• 135 presentations that were provided by CAPS were requested by campus partners.

• Revised the flow of the Suicide Prevention Training and its evaluation to increase ease of use.
• Rolled out Preventing Sexual Violence Bystander Training (please see Area of Focus 7C).
• Trainings currently in development: Mental Wellness Advocate Training, Stigmas, Stereotypes, and Safety (A Substance Use Prevention Training.
• Our trainings are available to the community as a free resource.
• Midwestern Public Health Training Center utilizing our Preventing Suicide training for their students.

• Provided 70 informational tables totaling approximately 203 hours and had 5,403 contacts (provided information to an average of 77 individuals per table).

• #WeSupportU suspender gear item sales totaled $2,500 over the FY. These sales have allowed us to continue the incentive of a free #WSUWeSupportU shirt to any students, faculty, or staff who complete the Preventing Suicide training as a self-sustaining program for the coming year.

• Delivering hopeful content and informative campaigns on social media, WSU TV, Shocker Blast, WSU Today, WSU Alumni Newsletter, and other publications to build awareness of available resources among students, staff, faculty, and the community.
• Partnered with SGA and other Student Affairs departments to engage in Wellness Weeks for the campus community.
• Updated Wellness Card Evaluation.
• Collaborated with Elliott School of Communication in video production class to develop public service announcements produced by students.

• Recognized by Wichita Medical Research & Education Foundation with Jiggs Nelson Quality of Life Award.
• Recognized by Wichita Business Journal as Healthcare Hero for community outreach.

• Elevating the conversation around Suspenders4Hope® and making strides toward becoming the nationally recognized symbol for supportive mental health communities.
• Worked with WSU’s Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization to produce a video about Suspenders4Hope® and how it can contribute to workplace wellness initiatives and other initiatives.
• Grew Suspenders4Hope® campaign awareness with multiple promotional and marketing initiatives through large-scale events with community partners including Ascension Via Christi, Wichita Journalism Collaborative, StopSuicideICT, Sedgwick County, The Greater Wichita YMCA, Vet to Vet Support Command, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), Salud Bienestar, This is Her, and Cafe Con Leche.
• Featured in media by: KMUW, KSN, KAKE, Sunflower, Wichita Eagle, Mayors Press Briefing, Wichita Life Podcast

• Community Partners who have a 2022-2023 licensing agreement to use the Suspenders4Hope® Prevention Program, focusing on Mental Wellness, Preventing Suicide, Preventing Sexual Violence and Substance Use Disorders.
  • Ascension Via Christi
  • Nebraska Wesleyan University
  • Thrive Restaurant Group
  • Penn State Altoona
• New Suspenders4Hope® Community Partners are currently in the onboarding process
  • HCA Wesley Hospital
  • The Catholic Diocese of Greater Wichita

• Served on County, State, and Regional Committees such as Sedgwick County Suicide Prevention Coalitation.

• Translated Wellness in the Workplace cards to create a Spanish version of the exercises.
• Engaged national experts Dr. Ken Duckworth (CMO, NAMI) and Dr. David Jobes for feedback on our materials and engagement.

• In-person Mental Wellness and Preventing Suicide Training community events for the following groups: The Society of Human Resource Managers, Vet to Vet, Family Promise of Greater Wichita, Martin Pringle Law, The Downtown Rotary, Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School, Goodwill of Kansas, City Arts, The Phoenix Gym for the substance use recovery community, the artistic community, Vornado, The Association of Fund Raising Professionals, Catholic Assembly of Businesses, Kansas Association of Independent and Religious Schools, the Boy Scouts America, and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
• Online training courses that have been created by our department and are currently in use:
  • Community Preventing Suicide Training
  • Spanish version of the Preventing Suicide Training
• In-person and online community trainings that we are currently developing:
  • Vietnamese version of the Preventing Suicide Training
  • Veterans’ version of the Preventing Suicide Training
  • Promoting Wellness and Preventing Suicide in the LGBTQ+ Community (In-person rolled out)
  • Promoting Wellness and Preventing Suicide in the Law Enforcement Community (In-person rolled out)
  • Preventing Sexual Violence Bystander Training (In-person rolled out)
  • Promoting Wellness and Preventing Suicide in Older Adults
  • Mental Wellness Advocate Training
  • Stigmas, Stereotypes, and Safety (A Substance Use Prevention Training)

• Launched in March 2023.
• 17 facilitators are now trained.
• The new Facilitators will be able to take our Suspenders4Hope® Mental Wellness and Preventing Suicide Training and teach it out in the community.
• We have been able to provide Preventing Suicide Facilitator Training to many community members, at no cost to them, by funds we received from grants (see grants section).

• We are in the development stage of a program that will be offered to a school group in West Baton Rouge, LA.
• The program is designed to help those who are graduating. To help them build habits that promote healthy individual employability.
• We have also partnered with Ringorang, the United States Air Force and Goodwill of Kansas on other grant submission projects.

• Expanded website to include new pages with relevant content; About, FAQ, Get Involved, Advocate, Become a Partner, Current Partners, Donate, Suspenders Gear, Take the Training, Wellness Activities, News, Events, Media Inquiries, Press Release, Stories4Hope.

• A cause-related marketing partnership between Suspenders4Hope® and the WSU Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization.
• Continued efforts are in finding new partners and raising funds to sustain and expand all our Suspenders4Hope® efforts and community actions.
• We have donation and fundraising materials available for distribution.

• Heather Stafford, Chair (Student Health Services)
• Marci Young (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Andy Sykes (Campus Rec)
• Tonya Baldwin (International Education)
• Elizabeth Hardyway (YMCA)
• Jennifer Nicholson (Office of Disability Services)
• Sara McIntyre (Human Resources)
• Mary Elizabeth Thornton (SGA VP)

• Sarah Stephens Selmon, Chair (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Georgina LaFoe (Community Engagement Institute)
• Guy Schroder (University Police Department)
• Marci Young (CAPS)
• Suzanne Hawley (Public Health Sciences)
• Chad Steinkamp (Admissions)
• Jonathan Stanger (SGA Rep)

• Amanda Abeywickrama (International Graduate Student in Sociology)
• Cora Olson, Chair (CAPS, Office on Violence Against Women Grant)
• Carley Enyart (Housing and Residence Life)
• Corey Herl (UPD)
• Kat Fishwick (Doctoral Practicum Student in Community Psychology)
• Kennedy Rogers (Student Affairs Staff Engagement)
• Megan Lewis (Student Affairs Staff Engagement)
• Liz Thorton (Student Conduct and Community Standards)
• Lucretia Taylor (OIEC/CTAC – Title IX Coordinator)
• Lauren Koehler (Wichita Family Crisis Center)
• Courtney McHenry (OIEC/CTAC – Title IX Coordinator)
• Marci Young (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Victoria Gardner (Counseling and Prevention Services & Community Partner)
• Alicia Newell (Student Affairs, Assessment and Retention, and CARE Team)
• Jodie Hertzog (Sociology Department)
• Josh Steward (Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office)
• Vanessa Hunter (WASAC Advocate)
• Alice Fitzgerald (SGA Rep)

• Marci Young, Chair (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Rachael Gladden (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Sheri Barnes (Academic Advising)
• Kelly Adams (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
• Andrew Moses (Athletics)
• Alan Dsouza (Trio Support Services)
• Liz Thorton (Student Conduct and Community Standards)
• Sarah Stephens Selmon (Counseling and Prevention Services)
• Jennifer Mackey (School of Social Work)
• Malaree Hood (Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership)
• Noah Carter (SGA Rep)

• Number of Ambassadors:
  • Summer 2022: Trainees: 4 Returners: 8
  • Fall 2022: Trainees: 5 Returners: 12
  • Spring 2023: Trainees: 7 Returners: 11
  • Trainees already accepted for Fall 23 as of June 30, 2023: 5
• The Dedicated Positions Initiative was launched at the beginning of FY 23. This initiative allows ambassadors to contribute their own expertise to the prevention work in their spheres of influence on campus. Under this initiative Ambassadors were dedicated to the following populations in FY23:
  • Health Sciences
  • Greek Life
  • Health Professions
  • LGBTQ+ in Engineering
  • Women in Engineering
  • Criminal Justice
  • Psychology Department (Human Factors)
  • Social Work
  • Housing and Residence Life
  • Military
  • International Student Population
• Moving forward on classroom curriculum in order to provide classroom credit for Prevention Ambassador’s efforts.
• Created space in the old Wesley Space for Prevention Ambassadors to gather informally in.

• Prevention Ambassadors engaged in 17 in-person events with 400 student contacts.

• Notes of Purple concert promotion table
• Notes of Purple Concert
  • This concert was coordinated by Prevention Ambassadors to connect campus with the Purple Mile, a community event promoting awareness for domestic violence and sexual assault.
• Purple Day Activity
  • Promoting awareness for Domestic Violence awareness month, the prevention ambassador created an activity for students to show their support to victims by tracing their hands on a poster in solidarity.
• Tipsy Trials Activity
  • Promote AOD survey as well as sharing resources for campus and community. Beer Goggle activity was well received and information on recognizing and responding to alcohol overdose provided
• End of Semester Wellness Activity
  • Ambassadors hosted an arts and crafts event for students to de-stress from the semester.

• Valentine’s Day Tabling
  • Promoting healthy relationship materials
• Wellness Table Week
  • The ambassadors partnered with SGA to provide financial wellness resources
• Tipsy Trials promoting Drug Take Back Day
  • Spreading awareness for Drug Take Back Day as well as sharing resources for campus and community.
• Kissing Booth 1 and 2
  • Two tabling events promoting resources on discerning red and green flags in relationships.
• Denim Day Tabling
  • Promoting Denim Day, a national campaign promoting Sexual Violence Awareness Month

• Prevention Services offered 40 students applied learning opportunities in FY 23, including those who participated in the Prevention Ambassador programs.
• 6 communications applied learning opportunities.
• 4 students completed Community Psychology practicums.
• Created opportunities:
  • Sociology practicum opportunity
  •  Engineering applied learning opportunity
  •  Social Work practicum opportunity
  •  Aging Studies practicum opportunity
• Six of our student workers graduated from Wichita State University this year: Jacob Workentine, Neiman Thompson, Amanda Abeywickrama, Jillian Ross Mason, David Liu, and Monique Gaines. In celebration of their graduations, we shared about their work with our department and their future plans on our social media pages. 

• Awarded $43,500 grant from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).
• Received $200,000 in funding from GLS AND OVW multi-year grants.

• Created curriculum and submitted materials for Prevention Science and Community Wellness undergraduate course.
• Started the Prevention and Wellness Research Lab. 2 professional staff supervised 2 graduate students and 1 undergraduate student, who worked on aquantitative analysis of the AOD survey and a qualitative analysis of perceptions of sexual violence prevention and response on campus.

• Promoted Wellness in the Workplace program, and Wellness for Students. These easy-to-use exercises allow supervisors or individuals to infuse wellness content into their everyday routines and meetings.  
• Developed focused efforts to educate campus supervisors in ways to increase mental health support to WSU faculty/staff, including sharing the Mental Health Advocate campaign in WSU Today and Shocker Blast
• Continued building a culture of mental health wellness at WSU through social media campaigns designed to connect students and staff with resources and encourage them to reduce stigma in their personal and professional lives. Student-led campaigns and graphic design featured messages around fentanyl awareness, monthly wellness calendars, the launch of 988, safe and sober driving, healthy relationships, the importance of connection, group therapy options and other resources available at CAPS.

• Over 1,150 sets of Wellness cards have been distributed for use.
• Adapted Wellness in the Classroom cards to include a set for individual students to complete on their own.
• Developed focused efforts to educate campus supervisors in ways to increase mental health support to the University faculty and staff.

• Created a video with guidelines showing how to record your own Story4Hope to help people feel more comfortable and capable and increase submissions.
• Stories4Hope program expanded and included
  • Dr. Aaron Austin, featured on Blackboard- resulted in the most engaged with ad on Blackboard during the FY.
  • Student Body President John Kirk, featured on Blackboard
  • Jim Yoder
  • Father Meng

• 1,135 online mental health screens completed.
• Ran ads in The Sunflower encouraging students to complete the online mental health screens.
• Created flyers in English and Spanish to promote the screenings at tabling events. The online screenings also available in both English and Spanish.

• In collaboration with Wichita Journalism Collaborative produced a zine titled, “How to Talk About Feeling Bad”. This combines stories of hope and information from our Preventing Suicide training. Launched zine at Ulrich Art Museum. Now available in locations for free across Wichita.
• Booth in Kansas State Fair to provide resources and information to the broader Kansas community.
• Collaborated with SGA on resources flyers to be more available and accessible across campus.

• 2,046 individuals completed the Preventing Suicide training in FY 23. This brings the total of people trained to 5,806 since its launch in September 2018.
• Connected with members of the WSU community who completed the Preventing Suicide training online to provide them with follow-up materials, resources, and a free suspenders t-shirt. 
• Distributed crisis magnets to all Housing and Residence Life apartments as well as information on how to take the online Preventing Suicide training.
• Collaborated with Strategic Communications to produce a video featuring President Muma that encourages students and staff to take the Preventing Suicide Training
• Engaged in student focus groups to evaluate student perspectives on our current trainings.

• Rolled out our Preventing Suicide training in Spanish for WSU members and their support systems.
• Rolled out our Preventing Suicide in the LGBTQ+ Community training on campus.
• Rolled out our Preventing Suicide in the Law Enforcement training. All UPD members are currently trained.
• Collaboration with Vet to Vet Support Command to provide Preventing Suicide Training to veterans and veteran service providers. (For other affinity group trainings, please see Area of Focus 3)
• 2nd Annual Suspenders4Hope® 5K & 1 Mile Memorial Walk to Benefit StopSuicide ICT.
• Focus on men’s mental health with outreach messages and resources.

• Healthy Relationship and Bystander Intervention Training (HR&BI)
  • 19 students trained in HR&BI
  • Materials being translated into Spanish for social media, bookmarks, etc. and for marketing the training
  • HR&BI education and promotional videos created
  • International student version of the HR&BI training drafted and focus group conducted
  • Reviewed the healthy relationship and bystander training for the LGBTQ+ community inclusiveness and got high marks with only a couple of recommendations for adjustments.
  • HR&BI collaboration with F&SL for the annual, new member academy in early stages of establishment
• Collaboration with Prevention Ambassadors on events for Healthy relationships Table, Notes of Purple, Purple Day, Valentines Day tabling, Kissing Booths, and Denim Day (see Prevention Ambassador section of report for details)
• Created and trialed 
  • Research informed red and green flags of hookup culture campaign
  • Consent education materials
• Classroom Infusion Activities
  • Further refined and planned pilot study of Classroom Infusion Activities, which were developed to foster conversation in the classroom about social norms, empathy, and healthy relationships as well as provide basic prevention information about intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking.
  • The activities have been intentionally crafted to connect students and instructors teaching a wide variety of course content.

• Two paid graduate positions
• Four undergraduate positions, two paid and two for course credit
• Four team members attended the multiday OVW Technical Training Institute in Atlanta

• Procedure, policy, and resource review conducted with CCCRT partner departments to assess university resources related to student care/referral around intimate partner and sexual violence for clarity, comprehensiveness, trauma-informed language, perspective, and unified and up to date messaging.
• Collaborated with Student Affairs in conducting CARE Team focus groups to assess services and student experience with a variety of departments across campus.
• Created training materials for Title IX conduct hearing board member to better align with best practices, specifically providing a background on sexual violence and its impact, trauma informed questioning, informal resolution procedures, and the relationship between alcohol and sexual assault.
• From July 1 to December 31, 2022, a total of 13,464 of the 16,921 enrolled students were trained in sexual assault prevention training (Everfi). This total includes undergraduate and graduate students. Data provided by CTAC.
• Website pages being edited for comprehensiveness, trauma-informed language, and usability/accessibility.
• Focus groups conducted with key stakeholders to understand the perception, prevention efforts, and resourcing on campus regarding sexual violence
• Complied an information sheet for accessing resources in the community specifically related to immigration.

• Introduced the new WASAC Campus Advocate to WSU
• Formed a partnership with the Medical Advocate from Wichita Family Crisis Center who can serve students in the Student Wellness Center
• Cora Olson, chair of the CCCRT served on the planning team for the annual Purple Mile domestic violence memorial walk and community resource fair held at WSU. Community organizations involved in the event included: Harbor House, Wichita Family Crisis Center, Law Enforcement Training Center, StepStone, Wichita Police Department, USD 259, the Airforce, and over a dozen others. This has served as an opportunity to build community partnerships and better connect the campus and community.
• 200 people participated in the Purple Mile on 10/8/22. This has served as an opportunity to build community partnerships and better connect the campus and community.

• Completed 2^nd and 3^rd Tier AOD sanctions in collaboration with Student Conduct and Community Standards.
• Collaborated with the Sunflower to publish ads promoting the AOD survey and pledge webpage.
• Offered a red parking spot as incentive. Thanked all surveyors on Facebook and in Shocker Blast
• Distributed a survey about students’ thoughts and opinions on important topics such as the effects, risks, and presence of illegal substances in Wichita. There were 1,700 student responses. The survey provided us with valuable insight into students’ attitudes toward substances.

• Hosted Stigmas, Stereotypes and Safety, a discussion on substance use with Dylan Dunn with 70 attendees.
• Trained all PSAB sub-committee members to facilitate the Choices About Alcohol program to students in their areas of influence.
• Developed Stigma, Stereotypes, and Safety training for decreasing substance misuse/use on campus. Training was reviewed by national technical assistance providers (Opioid Response Network and Safe Campuses) to ensure best practices are being met.

• Launched and advertized a webpage where WSU individuals can take a pledge to not drive while impaired.
• Designed Drive with Care stickers featuring Wu.
• Created air fresheners, wristbands, bumper stickers, license plates, and other various items regarding safe driving.
• Created various advertisements (flyers, social media posts, etc.) and posted them across campus and other communication channels. The content focuses on messaging around safe driving and transportation options. Messaging also includes safe practices around alcohol consumption (e.g. knowing the signs of alcohol poisoning and what to do in emergency situations).
• Created and distributed safer drinking and driving alternatives to post in local restaurants and bars.
• Create a webpage for safe transportation options if you are impaired.

• Provided medication locks and medication deactivation bags to students across campus, and have them available as needed for students in campus housing. This will help decrease access to medications for misuse/overuse.
• Put up yard signs across campus with safer use information.

• Collaborated with Student Affairs and Housing and Residence departments to share flyers in their departments’ respective areas (e.g. Rhatigan Student Centre, Shocker Hall, and The Flats).
• Created brochures for the Shocker Store. Students, faculty, and staff have the option to receive a free WSU t-shirt near their birthday - the brochure will be provided along with the t-shirt. The brochure contains information about safe practice around alcohol and transportation options.
• Over the summer, the Shocker Store sent out an estimate of 10-20 emails per day about free birthday shirts, and 5 or so people pick up a shirt every day. These numbers are expected to significantly increase during the regular school semesters (Fall and Spring).
• Additional brochures will also be placed at the checkout for individuals to take if interested.
• Partnered with Safe Streets ICT to make Narcan and fentanyl test strips available on campus.
• Collaborated with Student Affairs and Housing and Residence departments to share flyers in their departments’ respective areas (e.g. Rhatigan Student Centre, Shocker Hall, and The Flats).