{"id":11459,"date":"2025-03-04T15:30:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T20:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/case-study\/university-north-carolina-unc\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T09:21:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:21:28","slug":"university-north-carolina-unc","status":"publish","type":"case-study","link":"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/case-study\/university-north-carolina-unc\/","title":{"rendered":"UNC-Chapel Hill transforma su campus con los Primeros Auxilios en Salud Mental"},"content":{"rendered":"

Founded in 1789, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) is the nation\u2019s first public university. It enrolls over 32,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, and employs almost 14,000 faculty and staff.<\/p>\n

UNC-Chapel Hill has long prioritized mental health and wellness for its students, faculty and staff. As mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, substance use and isolation have become more prevalent on college campuses, the university has recognized the urgent need to reduce stigma and equip students, staff and faculty with practical tools for supporting one another.<\/p>\n

Behavioral Health Springboard (BHS) started providing MHFA with a SAMSHA grant in 2015. When grant-funding ended in 2021, efforts were made to establish Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) on campus which officially began in 2022. To address these concerns, BHS at the UNC School of Social Work was tasked with implementing MHFA courses across campus. For more than a decade prior, BHS had been working across the state of NC to development and provide continuing education on evidence based treatment and interventions to NC licensed mental and behavioral health provider. Since its initial launch, MHFA has played a significant role in shifting mental health culture on campus and throughout North Carolina. Today, UNC-Chapel Hill makes MHFA training available at no charge to interested faculty, staff and students.<\/p>\n

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Since the fall 2022 semester, UNC has trained 1,647 people in MHFA.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Get Training > <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Program Overview: A Transformative Approach to Mental Health<\/h2>\n

MHFA is an evidence-based program designed to equip people with the skills to identify and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges, offering initial support until professional help can be accessed. Initially, MHFA on campus trained gatekeepers such as faculty and staff in Adult MHFA (for adults helping adults). Since then, they\u2019ve expanded to include Youth MHFA (for adults helping youth) and teen MHFA (for teens helping their peers), greatly broadening MHFA\u2019s reach and impact across North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Tiffany Edouard, the MHFA Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Springboard, said, \u201cFrom a faculty and staff perspective, there\u2019s a lot of front-line work that happens in the classroom, where you notice students\u2019 struggles day in and day out. It\u2019s incredible to be able to not just refer them to an academic counselor but to actually intervene and assess what resources they need. From a student\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s invaluable for conversations with peers, who are often the first to hear from someone in need. MHFA provides a foundational tool that enhances the campus culture for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cThe success here is evident. Many of our Mental Health First Aiders want to return as Instructors, and we\u2019ve heard many stories of people recommending MHFA to friends and staff. Some even want to incorporate MHFA into their curriculum or professional development, which speaks to the program\u2019s value.\u201d<\/p>\n