Mercy University Awarded $500,000 Federal Grant to Expand Campus-Wide Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Initiatives

The four-year SAMHSA grant will fund Mercy RISE initiative serving students across all three campuses.

DOBBS FERRY, NY, UNITED STATES, November 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Mercy University has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to strengthen and expand campus-wide suicide prevention, mental health education and student support initiatives.

The four-year award, funded through SAMHSA’s Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program, will support Mercy RISE (Resilience, Intervention, Support and Empowerment), an initiative designed to strengthen campus-wide suicide prevention across the University’s three campuses by expanding early identification, increasing access to behavioral health services, implementing evidence-based prevention strategies and building sustainable infrastructure that improves student well-being.

“This award represents a significant investment in the health and well-being of our students,” said Colleen Powers, executive director of Health and Wellness at Mercy University. “The funding will allow us to build upon the important work already underway through our JED Campus and other initiatives and further develop a comprehensive, proactive approach to mental health promotion, suicide prevention and student support.”

Suicide continues to be a leading cause of death among college and university students in the United States. The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reports that 33.2% of 18- to 25-year-olds experience mental illness, with 9.4% experiencing serious mental illness.

At Mercy University, institutional data from the 2024–2025 Healthy Minds Study found that 62% of students experience symptoms of at least one significant mental health concern, and an estimated 3,000 students with identified needs are not receiving treatment, underscoring the urgent need for expanded prevention and early intervention efforts.

In 2025, Mercy joined JED Campus, a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation designed to help schools evaluate and strengthen their mental health, substance misuse and suicide prevention programs. Since then, the University has been working with JED to assess existing mental health, substance misuse and suicide prevention programs and identify what’s working to help address gaps.

Mercy RISE will build upon the University’s existing work with JED, its Counseling Center, CARE Team, Student Health Office and the Office of Accessibility, to establish a comprehensive suicide prevention framework. The initiative has four primary goals: strengthen institutional capacity for suicide prevention; improve early identification and referral of students experiencing behavioral health concerns; increase help-seeking behaviors and awareness of available services; and establish sustainable policies, partnerships and prevention infrastructure that extend beyond the grant period.

In collaboration with key partners including JED Campus, BetterMynd, Lavender Psychiatry, the Behavioral Health College Partnership, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, NAMI OF WESTCHESTER , the Jordan Porco Foundation and other regional behavioral health providers, Mercy will train faculty, staff, student leaders and students to recognize warning signs and connect peers to help; conduct annual behavioral health needs assessments, voluntary behavioral health screening and referrals, integrated crisis response, prevention programming, outreach and stigma reduction and implement strategies to reduce access to lethal means.

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About Mercy University
Mercy University is an independent, coeducational institution serving more than 9,000 students each year across campuses in Westchester, the Bronx, Manhattan, as well as online. It is a federally designated minority-serving institution and the largest private Hispanic Serving Institution in the state of New York. Mercy offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificate programs within six schools: Business, Education, Health and Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Mercy was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy whose mission of transformative education remains strong. For more information, visit www.mercy.edu.

Disclaimer: Mercy RISE was developed [in part] under a grant number SM-26-009 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.

Zodet Negron
Mercy University
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