Fort Valley State University recently announced that it has joined JED Campus in support of student well-being and mental health. The program is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to help schools evaluate and strengthen their mental health, substance misuse and suicide prevention programs and systems to ensure that schools have the strongest possible mental health safety nets.

By joining JED Campus, FVSU demonstrates a commitment to the emotional well-being of its students. JED Campuses embark on a multi-year strategic collaboration that not only assesses and enhances the work that is already being done but also helps create positive, lasting, systemic change in the campus community. The program provides schools with a framework for supporting student mental health, as well as assessment tools, feedback reports, a strategic plan, and ongoing support from the JED Campus team.  

“We are elated to partner with JED Campus to provide enhanced mental health services at Fort Valley State,” said Jesse F. Kane, FVSU vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. “This is an important measure in not only promoting student health and safety, but also in our students having a positive experience that hopefully will impact them for their entire lives around mental health.”

John MacPhee, executive director of JED, said the college years are a great time to support students in their emotional health. 

“The college years are the age when many mental health issues first manifest, and it can be a time of significant stress and pressure,” MacPhee said. said “JED Campus helps schools by working with them to survey everything their university is doing to support their students’ emotional health and find practical ways to augment these efforts in a comprehensive way. We believe that the implementation of a campus-wide approach to mental health will lead to safer, healthier communities, and likely greater student retention.”

FVSU membership in JED Campus begins with establishing an interdisciplinary, campus-wide team to assess, support and implement program, policy, and system improvements and completing a confidential, self-assessment survey on its mental health promotion, substance abuse, and suicide prevention efforts. Upon completion of the assessment, JED Campus clinicians provide schools with a comprehensive feedback report identifying successes and opportunities for enhancements. Over the course of four years, FVSU will collaborate with JED to help implement enhancements. All self-assessment responses and feedback reports are confidential.   

For more information about JED Campus, visit www.jedcampus.org.