ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — St. Bonaventure has been awarded a three-year federal grant of more than $286,000 to help the university’s efforts to address mental health and substance abuse issues.

The funds will come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The initiative is called Bona’s HEALS (Helping, Educating, Advocating, Leading, and Supporting).

“This award will be a tremendous help in our efforts toward suicide prevention and educating our community about substance use and misuse,” said Del Rey Honeycutt, associate dean for Student and Community Wellbeing. “This will also help us enhance our current programs and initiatives related to mental health and overall wellbeing.”

The grant will enable the Division of Student Affairs to hire a health educator and create a peer educator program for St. Bonaventure students who have an interest in raising awareness and educating their peers on these important topics, Honeycutt said.

“Both of these initiatives have been part of my vision since starting here in 2021, so I’m very excited to see it come to fruition,” she said. “Of special interest, we are hoping to reach our marginalized student population and those who often feel a stigma attached to seeking help. We really want to increase their willingness to seek help when needed.”

The main component of the grant is getting staff trained to facilitate QPR (question, persuade and refer) training so they can train the students, other staff and faculty on QPR, she said. QPR is an educational program designed to teach lay and professional “gatekeepers” the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to respond.

Other programs and initiatives include: