Author: Sarah Stephens Selmon

Come hear how everyone can enhance the wellbeing of the community with the launch of the WSU Wellness Initiative from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11 in the Woolsey Hall auditorium, or watch on YouTube. Help Wichita State lead in the promotion of community wellness both on and off campus.

Lunch will be provided by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Attendees will also get Suspenders4Hope gear at no additional charge.

Schedule of events:

• 12:30 p.m.: Event opens with lunch buffet
• 1 p.m.: Program begins with remarks from Provost Dr. Shirley Lefever and presentation of the Community Wellness Initiative with Dr. Teri Hall, vice president for student affairs
• 1:30 p.m.: Dr. Suzanne Hawley presents wellness card data review
• 1:45 p.m.: Jenny Venn and “Design for Social Change” class, a students perspective on the Hope Kits
• 2 p.m.: Jessica Provines on promoting mental wellness training utilizing wellness cards
• 3 p.m.: Closing remarks, dessert served and mingle opportunity
• 3:30 p.m.: Event conclusion

Join Counseling and Psychological Services for its third annual Suspenders4Hope 5k and One-Mile Memorial Walk to benefit StopSuicideICT Saturday, Sept. 30.

Registration and check-in begin at 8:30 a.m., with the 5k starting at 9 a.m.. The race is an official, certified course on Wichita State’s campus and will begin in the Steve Clark YMCA parking lot. Following the race, several speakers and awards will be given.

The event will conclude with a One-Mile Memorial Walk in honor of those who lost their lives to suicide. All registrants for the run and walk will receive a race T-shirt.

The training, “Utilizing our Faith to Promote Mental Wellness and Prevent Suicide Workshop,” will be held 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Wichita.

The workshop will include personal stories of transforming suffering and loss into healing and positive impact from Andrew Meng, parochial vicar at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and Dr. Jessica Provines, chief psychologist at Wichita State and co-creator of the Suspenders4Hope Mental Wellness program.

Suspenders4Hope shirts and lunch by Tanya’s Soup Kitchen will be provided by the Catholic Assembly of Businesses, Ascension Via Christi and WSU at no additional charge.

The Suspenders4Hope Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention Program, developed at WSU, is committed to bringing hope to people in times of despair by reducing stigma and improving emotional coping and peer support.  The program is about shifting the current culture of silence to a culture of shared vulnerability, caring, and most importantly support.  We are all connected as human beings, and we are responsible for taking care of each other.  Therefore, a goal of the program is to unite education, health care, non-profits, businesses, and faith communities to address the mental health and substance use crisis in our society with compassion, love and kindness.

KSN featured Suspenders4Hope’s new Hope Kits in partnership with Comcare Community Crisis Center, providing them with a trial run of 250 of the Hope Kits. The kits are designed to bridge the gap between someone’s emergency psychiatric care and their next outpatient visit.

Suspenders4Hope launched in 2015 with the goal of providing mental health resources to WSU’s student body. Suspenders4Hope is a comprehensive, strategic approach to promoting mental health wellness, preventing suicide, substance abuse and sexual violence. By showcasing real stories of hope, help-seeking and resiliency, Suspenders4Hope aims to increase connections and end the stigma surrounding mental health.

Introducing HOPE Services at Wichita State. An acronym for Health, Outreach, Prevention and Education, HOPE Services was formerly housed under Counseling and Prevention Services.

HOPE Services promotes mental health and wellness as well as prevention efforts aimed at reducing substance misuse, suicide and sexual violence on campus. Located in the Student Wellness Center inside the Steve Clark YMCA, HOPE Services invites students and staff to engage with wellness resources, trainings and outreach activities that increase connection.

In partnership with Vet-to-Vet Support Command and the Veteran Providers’ Coalition of Sedgwick County, Suspenders4Hope hosts “Preventing Suicide,” a workshop for Wichita’s veteran community.

Join Suspenders4Hope for its “Preventing Suicide” training at First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 21. The first 100 registrants will receive a free Suspenders4Hope T-shirt.

Registration is required due to space limitations.

Join Dr. Shirley Lefever, executive vice president and provost, and Matthew Mooers, psychology intern, for “Keep Calm & Breath Online,” a guided meditation, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 on the Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) Facebook page.

Wichita State was recently recognized at the 10th annual Kansas Health Ethics Conference sponsored by the Wichita Medical Research & Education Foundation.

WSU’s Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) and the Suspenders4Hope program were awarded the Jiggs Nelson Quality of Life Award. Drs. Jessica Provines and Marci Young were present to receive the award, and they shared information about Suspenders4Hope and other services provided by the Student Wellness Center with the audience.

Sonja Armbruster, educator of public health sciences, received the Health Educator of the Year award.  Previous recipients include Carolyn Harrison, Dr. Francie Eckengren, Robert Miller and Deb McArthur.

It was the first time the conference was held in person since 2020, and it was an opportunity to reconnect with physical and mental healthcare providers across the community.

The recording of “Stigmas, Stereotypes & Safety: A conversation about substance use and abuse in our community” from Feb. 23 is now available to students, faculty and staff to watch.

Dylan Dunn, assistant director at SAFE (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic) Project, led a discussion at Wichita State about how society views and approaches substance use and addiction. Through a mixture of reflective and practical discussion, participants developed a greater understanding of the role they play in supporting students impacted by substance use and how to directly prevent overdoses and empower recovery. The presentation also provided information about navigating and better understanding the current realities of fentanyl.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will host “Stigmas, Stereotypes and Safety: A conversation about substance abuse and use in our community” at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 in 231 Hubbard Hall.

Dylan Dunn, assistant director of SAFE Campuses at SAFE (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic) Project, will discuss how society views and approaches substance use and addiction while also teaching participants how to navigate and better understand the current realities of fentanyl. Through a mixture of reflective and practical discussion, participants will develop a greater understanding of the role they all play in supporting students impacted by substance use and how they can directly prevent overdose and empower recovery.