HUSSW Turns Mental Health Awareness Into Campus-Wide Preparedness

Howard University School of Social Work Expands Mental Health Education and Crisis Awareness Ahead of 988 Day

Howard University School of Social Work recognizes 988 Day on September 8, 2026, by highlighting efforts to expand mental health education, suicide prevention training, and access to crisis resources across campus. Through professional training and institutional advocacy, Associate Professor JaNeen Cross, DSW, LICSW, LSCW-C., and Professor and Dean Emerita Sandra Edmonds Crewe, Ph.D., MSW, ACSW, have advanced mental health education and resource awareness through the Howard University Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention (HU-MHASP) program, a SAMHSA-funded grant initiative. Their efforts are helping prepare individuals across academic disciplines and professional roles to recognize mental health concerns, respond with greater confidence, and connect people to the appropriate support.

A central component of the initiative has been the Questions, Persuade, Refer (QPR) course, an emergency mental health intervention designed to help trainees recognize warning signs of a suicide crisis.  The training has been offered across Howard University's academic and administrative units, including faculty, students, and staff, expanding the number of people across campus who are prepared to recognize and respond when someone may be experiencing a crisis and connect people to the appropriate resources. 

The five-year project has extended beyond behavioral health professionals. Training has been conducted in partnership with the Howard University School of Nursing, preparing undergraduate and graduate students who will work in hospitals throughout the District and adding mental health response skills to their clinical preparation. Officers from Howard University’s Department of Public Safety have also participated, recognizing the important role public safety personnel may have when encountering students, employees, visitors, or community neighbors experiencing distress. Feedback from participating public safety officers emphasized the practical value of the training. When asked what they learned most, officers identified de-escalation strategies and the importance of listening and demonstrating care for an individual's circumstances. Participants also emphasized self-care, including the need to attend to their own well-being so they are better prepared to assist others. 

The HU-MHASP initiative and QPR training have also been incorporated into new student orientation programming within the School of Social Work, introducing MSW students to these skills as they begin their graduate education. “The MHASP and QPR training ensure that our MSW students are prepared to address mental health crises both in their assigned agencies and in their personal lives,” said Dr. Sandra Edmonds Crewe, Professor and Dean Emerita of the Howard University School of Social Work. “The training is aligned with the values of the social work profession.” Associate Professor Janeen Cross, DSW, also adds, "The health and well-being of students and our campus community is important.  We learned from the pandemic that students cannot focus on learning and striving for academic excellence when struggling with their mental health. In response, HU-MHASP centralizes the School of Social Work to support the well-being of the campus, local, and national communities.

It should also be noted that training is offered to resident assistants who are often among the first members of the campus community to encounter students navigating personal challenges and emotional distress. By engaging faculty, students, resident assistants, healthcare trainees, public safety personnel, and administrative units, the initiative is building a broader network of individuals across Howard who have greater awareness of how to recognize signs of mental suffering.

Students who have participated in the August 2026 training say its value lies not only in increasing awareness, but also in providing practical guidance for situations they may encounter personally and professionally.

“I would make this an orientation course across all health and human profession programs,” said Jazmyn Simmons, a first-year MSW student who earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama. “From my experience, mental health is not talked about as often as it should be. Social workers represent one of the largest groups of professionals working in mental health, and I firmly believe this training should be required.”

For Ms. Simmons, the relevance extends well beyond the social work profession.

“This is not just a social work issue. This is a human issue,” Simmons said. “Each one of us will experience moments of crisis, whether personally or through someone we know, and we need to know what resources are available when that happens.”

The HU School of Social Work is also training future facilitators to extend the program's reach. Knina Harvey, LCSW-C, LICSW, a fourth-year doctoral student in the School of Social Work, is training to become a Mental Health First Aid facilitator under the guidance of Dr. Cross. Harvey said one of the strengths of the training is that it moves participants beyond recognizing that someone may need help by providing concrete guidance about what to do next. When asked about her training experience, Harvey felt that the session was informative and that she liked how the program lays out an action plan for how to approach a situation and what steps to take. Harvey aptly stated, "People can be nervous about how to help someone in that moment, what to say, or how to approach them. Mental Health First Aid helps prepare you for each step, and I appreciate that.” Preparing doctoral students to become Mental Health First Aid facilitators creates an opportunity to develop leadership and training capacity within the University. As additional facilitators are trained, the School of Social Work can expand mental health education among university and community partners.

That same philosophy helped propel another significant development at Howard: the inclusion of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline information in course syllabi across camps. The university-wide effort reflects advocacy led by Crewe and Cross through their grant. By incorporating 988 information into syllabi, Howard has placed a national crisis resource within one of the documents students routinely encounter throughout their academic experience.

The premise is simple: students should not have to begin searching for crisis resources at the moment they or someone they know needs support. Including 988 information in course syllabi creates another point of access while reinforcing the relationship between mental health, self-care, and students’ ability to navigate the academic and personal demands of university life. Through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, individuals can call, text, or chat with a trained crisis counselor. The Lifeline provides access to support for people experiencing mental health or substance use concerns, suicidal thoughts, or concerns about someone in their lives.

The School of Social Work has also carried these conversations beyond campus classrooms and dorms. In partnership with BlackDoctors.org, HUSSW hosts a recurring webinar series bringing scholars, practitioners, and the general public together to examine mental health through culturally centered dialogue. The series addresses issues closely connected to family relationships, culture, identity, caregiving, and lived experience. Programming has explored caregiving and Alzheimer’s disease, grief and loss, identity and mental wellness, and intergenerational trauma and healing through arts-based approaches. These conversations have created opportunities to examine mental health through the experiences affecting Black individuals and families.

Together, Mental Health First Aid initiative (HU-MHASP), the QPR training, the integration of 988 information into the course syllabi, and widely accessible educational programming demonstrate a multifaceted approach that extends beyond simple awareness. The work is expanding the number of people who can recognize when support may be needed, increasing knowledge about how to respond, and making pathways to professional and crisis resources easier to identify.

That work takes on particular significance as the nation observes 988 Day on September 8. The annual observance draws attention to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and encourages individuals and institutions to increase awareness and understanding of how the resource can be accessed. As Jazmyn Simmons observed, the need to understand mental health and crisis resources reaches beyond any single discipline. 

As Howard University recognizes 988 Day, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members are encouraged to become familiar with the resource, save the number, and share it with others. Those seeking mental health, suicide, or substance use crisis support can call or text 988 or connect with a crisis counselor through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline chat. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.