New hires at the Counseling Center and signs around campus are two of the “steps” USF has taken to enhance suicide prevention, said Joseph Puccio, the associate vice president for USF Health and Wellness.

The changes come after three on-campus suicides since fall 2022. After the latest suicide in spring, USF confirmed it would not add more physical barriers and provided unclear responses to how it would prevent similar incidents.

Since then, other plans have been implemented, Puccio said. 

New Counseling Center initiatives

This year, the Counseling Center created a new position solely to oversee suicide prevention measures on campus and expand existing initiatives, said Scott Strader, director of the USF Tampa Counseling Center.

The coordinator of suicide prevention position was created with additional funding from the university, Strader said.

Rachel Gilmore, a licensed mental health counselor for the Counseling Center, was chosen for the position, he said.

“That is really allowing us to work on coordinating, promoting, enhancing and growing our suicide prevention program,” Strader said.

Related: USF experts say students need mental health support post-Milton

Gilmore is a 2012 USF psychology alumna who obtained her license as a clinical mental health counselor in March 2020. She has been with the Counseling Center since spring 2023, according to USF.

Strader said four new full-time Counseling Center staff members have been recruited since spring, bringing the number from 16 to 20 people. One more full-time clinical staff member is scheduled to start in January, he said.

Before the change, students had shared their concerns regarding not being able to schedule appointments when needing immediate help.

The Counseling Center’s additional staff has increased access to students, Strader said.

“Any student calling us today wanting to schedule with a particular counselor can typically get an appointment within a day or two,” Strader said.

Strader said the Counseling Center staff feels “very well-equipped” to manage the concerns of students as they come in.

Related: As USF implements suicide prevention measures, do students and faculty think it’s enough?

The Counseling Center has also created its own BullsConnect channel, where it posts different resources, trainings and events hosted at USF, Strader said.

New Student Health & Wellness Center initiatives

Prior to the Student Health & Wellness Center’s relocation, Puccio said students with a mental health emergency used to be transferred to the Counseling Center for more specific care.

Now that the physical distance between the two centers is “much farther” than it used to be, the Student Health & Wellness Center hired a second case manager, Puccio said.

The new case manager will ensure more comprehensive services are offered at the Student Health & Wellness Center so students don’t have to be transferred in “moments of crisis,” he said.

Puccio said the Center for Student Well-Being added signs in front of on-campus parking garages with positive statements, such as “Your life has meaning and purpose.”

“We want to promote those reinforced positivities that all people are important, and all people are very great human beings,” Puccio said.

Ongoing initiatives

Fences were added on the top floors of on-campus parking garages last year. However, additional physical barriers will not be added to buildings with wide openings in the middle, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said. 

The on-campus death that occurred in March did not happen at a parking garage. Instead, a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building.

Related: USF student who fell from building is third on-campus suicide since fall 2022

The four departments have been working on marketing strategies this semester to ensure more information is “getting out,” particularly through social media channels, Strader said. 

One of the Counseling Center’s initiatives since at least 2017 is a “suicide gatekeeper” training, called Campus Connect, available for the general USF community, Strader said.

“The training helps recognize signs of potential self-harm and suicide, what to do with that information, how to make referrals, how to talk with students and how to get them to the right place,” he said.

Puccio said this semester’s additions are an intentional effort to ensure all students are aware of the suicide prevention services USF provides.

“I’m still continuing to look at different ways that we can improve our ability to help students that I can’t really share yet, and hopefully, we may have something available to go in the spring,” Puccio said.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated when Campus Connect started being offered.