Family that lost two sons donates $25 million to UNC for Suicide Prevention Institute

Editor’s note: This story contains reporting about suicides, a topic that will be disturbing to some readers.

A UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus and his wife have donated $25 million to the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry to create the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute.

The institute will improve care for patients in North Carolina and help health researchers better understand the neurobiology of suicide and how it can be prevented.

UNC alumnus William Starling and his wife, Dana, made the donation in memory of their sons, Tyler and Gregory, both of whom died by suicide.

“Our two children are gone, and it’s important to recognize their wonderful, short lives,” William Starling said in a statement. “I’m not sure how else to better do that than to help other families who may be struggling with their own children down the road.”

National mental health crisis

The new institute comes as the nation and North Carolina faces an ongoing mental health crisis, particularly among young people, that has escalated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the work to address this public health crisis can be dark and tragic, this $25 million gift offers a bright spot that will save lives locally and have national impact.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in individuals 10 to 34 years old nationally. More than 7,000 North Carolinians died by suicide between 2016 and 2020, according to data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. That’s about 15 people per 100,000 residents.

And North Carolina ranked 42nd out of 50 states for resources put into addressing adolescent mental health, despite it being one of the most populated states in the country.

“This funding will allow us to do a higher level of care and deliver cutting-edge intervention, which will without a doubt save lives,” UNC-CH professor and psychiatrist Samantha Meltzer-Brody said.

The UNC-Chapel Hill community has been grappling with a mental health crisis on campus after multiple student deaths last fall. The university added two well-being days to the fall academic calendar and incorporated mental wellness content, resources and tools in the new undergraduate curriculum.

While this institute will be housed in UNC’s psychiatry department, its services expand beyond students and employees.

“The bottom line is that at every level many people are struggling — rates of anxiety and depression have gone through the roof, and the impact on teens and their development has been especially massive,” Dr. Patrick Sullivan said in a statement. “And one of the main red flags is attempted suicide and people who die by suicide.”

Sullivan, a world-renowned UNC psychiatry and genetics professor, will be the new director of the institute. He said this is “a critical situation” because many measures of mental health are worse over the past five years.

The UNC Suicide Prevention Institute will focus on the science behind what causes suicidal thoughts and depression, improving clinical outcomes and educating and connecting with the community to identify at-risk groups for suicide. The goal is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of suicide in patients across the UNC Health system.

Patient navigator system

The institute’s most immediate impact will be identifying people with active suicidal thoughts or attempts who come to UNC hospitals and health facilities, flagging those individuals and developing a patient navigator system to ensure those people get care and are carefully followed.

That doesn’t happen as robustly as health professionals would like because the infrastructure of mental health care is spread so thin and people fall through the cracks, Meltzer-Brody said.

The team is also working to create a model for utilizing electronic health records to identify at-risk individuals, track them and intervene. The model could be exported for healthcare facilities across the country.

The research goal to understand the science behind who’s at risk will take more time, but Meltzer-Brody is optimistic that the school’s team of scientists and psychiatrists will make significant strides.

UNC students, faculty and staff can visit the Heels Care Network (care.unc.edu) for mental health, well-being and suicide prevention resources, including links to 24/7 support. If you or someone you know is in crisis or contemplating suicide, call or text 988 to be connected to a mental health professional for immediate help or visit samhsa.gov/find-help/988.