Suicide Prevention Education Coalition

A Fund of

The Suicide Prevention Education Coalition was established to support and expand legislative, advocacy, and education efforts to prevent suicide among young adults. If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, dial 988 for the suicide and crisis lifeline.

In 2015, El Paso attorney Mark Walker worked with the El Paso State Legislative Delegation to introduce legislation requiring the provision of information about mental health and suicide prevention services for entering college students at Texas public colleges and universities. At the end of that session, the Texas State Legislature approved and the Governor signed SB 1614 requiring more than 200,000 entering students at Texas public colleges and universities to receive information and training related to mental health and suicide prevention services.  With the passage of the legislation, Mr. Walker worked with Dr. Chris Brownson, Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Texas at Austin, to develop a 1-hour interactive curriculum for all entering students, which was shared with Texas public colleges and universities.

In 2017, Mr. Walker established the Suicide Prevention Education Coalition in the Paso del Norte Community Foundation to expand these legislative, advocacy, and education efforts. Similar legislation was passed in Arkansas in 2017 (HB 1666) and introduced among legislators in New Mexico in 2018.

For the 88^th Texas Legislative Session, the Suicide Prevention Education Coalition seeks to expand the 2015 Texas legislation to include students entering Texas community colleges, which would expand the provision of mental health and suicide prevention education to more than 600,000 entering students in Texas.

The Suicide Prevention Education Coalition is additionally working to raise $100,000 to update the interactive curriculum to ensure that all Texas public institutions of higher learning have the evidence-based information and resources needed to promote mental health and suicide prevention education for entering students.

Campaign to Raise $100,000 to Update Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Education Materials

The Suicide Prevention Education Coalition is working to raise $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a 1-hour education curriculum to provide incoming college students with information on mental health and suicide education services.

The Coalition has developed a grassroots social media campaign to solicit gifts large and small to support mental health and suicide prevention education efforts.  The Coalition is further reaching out to individuals, corporations, foundations, and nonprofit organizations for contributions.  With the funds in place, the Coalition will work with Dr. Chris Browson at the University of Texas at Austin to develop and disseminate the mental health and suicide prevention curriculum to all Texas community colleges and public colleges and universities for implementation in Fall 2023.

Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among young adults and for every suicide, it is estimated that 100-200 people will attempt suicide. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the need for ongoing awareness - and support for individuals and families.

Your gift to the Coalition will provide the resources needed for us to continue to assist these organizations in ensuring that all people have the help and support needed to see the light and hope during times of darkness and despair.