Safe Communities - Injury Prevention Programs

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Violence & Suicide Prevention

 The Counseling and Testing Center (CTC) is committed to promoting the academic mission of the university by providing a variety of psychological services to students that will strengthen recruitment, retention, and graduation by enhancing students’ capacity to tolerate distress, form healthy relationships, seek healthy expressions of their ideals and values as well as address any other mental health issues. The Counseling and Testing Center also advances the university’s mission by providing educational programming, training, and consultation to the students, faculty, staff, and constituents of WKU.

CTC offers many outreach programs for the faculty, staff, student groups or community members. Some of the topics include suicide prevention, sexual assault awareness, LGBTQI issues, eating disorders, healthy relationships, managing stress, diversity, personality types, psychological disorders, etc.

Interpersonal Violence Awareness

Sexual assault affects not only the physical safety of our students but their social, emotional and academic well-being. It affects their daily behavior, academic success and even their retention rate. With that knowledge, the Counseling and Testing Center offers a variety of programs relating to interpersonal violence awareness to help prevent interpersonal violence and creating healthy relationships. We also serve as a safe space to receive counseling and advocacy and work in collaboration with other entities on campus and in our surrounding community to organize and assist with events focusing on interpersonal violence education and prevention. Some of our education and prevention programs include: Green Dot, Stun and Run, Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” the Clothesline Project, Walk a Mile in her Shoes, Love the Way You Lie, and Take Back the Night. 

The Counseling and Testing Center also hosts Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is October.

Suicide Prevention Outreach

Suicide awareness and prevention continues to be a specific focus of outreach and consultation. The focus is to identify students early when they were experiencing mental health difficulties to decrease the number of students affected by suicide. Staff members of Counseling and Testing Center are trained to identify signs of individuals needing assistance and getting them the assistance they need. Suicide prevention training is given to both professional and student staff members of the Housing and Residential Life Department. “QPR Training” educates residential staff on how to Question students, Persuading students to get help, and Referring the student of concern to the appropriate resources.

Professional staff members also report students, who demonstrate mental or emotional health concerns to representatives serving on the university’s Campus Partners Team. This organization assists in getting students connected to the appropriate resources in facilitating students progressing beyond their emotional behaviors, through to successfully returning to the campus community.

Another tool utilized by professional staff members in evaluating the need for intervening with students includes the Mapworks program. Mapworks is a web-based survey instrument designed to help students have a successful academic career. The program is administered through Retention and Student Services housed in Enrollment Management. Students provide a glimpse of their functioning within the college environment by self-reporting concerns they have.

 LGBTQI Issues

The Counseling and Testing Center offers Safe Zone training to help train faculty and staff about concerns of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) persons on campus and the community at large. The training focuses upon how our staff and faculty can become allies to LGBTQI students.

 Crime Prevention Programs

Safety and Crime Prevention is a shared responsibility between the WKU Police Department and the campus community. The WKU Police Crime Prevention section uses visual materials, programs, and personal contacts to inform students, faculty and staff on measures that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of becoming a crime victim. Crime Prevention programs are presented in residence halls during the academic year and Crime Prevention Week activities are conducted each fall. Topics covered in the Crime Prevention program include Operation ID, date rape awareness, theft prevention, escort services, drugs and narcotics, general safety and security, and alcohol awareness.

In addition to programs presented by the WKU Police Department and Housing and Residence Life, information relating to drugs and alcohol is provided by Student Health Services. Presentations are also made to parents and students during the orientation, advisement and registration program.

WKUPD Crime Stoppers and The Rape Aggression Defense Systems (R.A.D.) are also available.