Unilab Foundation’s RACE against suicide recognized at the LCF CSR Guild Awards

Unilab Foundation (ULF) was recently awarded the distinction of Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Project in Health through its RACE project during the League of Corporate Foundation’s (LCF) 2024 CSR Guild Awards held recently. RACE is a project under ULF’s mental health pillar, Heads Up PH.

From left to right: Ramon Derige of SEAOIL Foundation, Inc.; Geoffrey Garcia of MSD Philippines; Marie Joan Armada-Urieta, Program Director of Unilab Foundation; Claire Papa, Operations Director of Unilab Foundation; Marella Reforma, from the Heads Up program of Unilab Foundation and Dr. Benito Teehankee of De La Salle University.

The CSR Guild Awards is an initiative of the League of Corporate Foundations to recognize its member organizations who are implementing social good initiatives with meaningful and sustainable impact to the communities and institutions they serve. This event coincides with the celebration of the CSR Week in the Philippines which is held every first week of July by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 299, s. 2020.

The “RACE Against Suicide Toolkit: A Gatekeeper Training Toolkit for Suicide Prevention in Schools” or RACE project was developed in 2020 to bridge the gap in access to mental health resources for student suicide prevention.  The project empowers schools through training of their teachers, guidance counsellors, and other school personnel as gatekeepers equipped to identify, manage, and refer learners at-risk of suicide.

Participants from the first batch of the DepEd National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) Capacity Building program huddle to discuss the best school protocol and approach to a given situation.

As a Toolkit, it consists of a screening tool and modules that cover basic skills for all personnel and advanced skill prevention for counselors and health staff, delivered through a combination of learning videos, lecture and processing, case simulations, and action planning. The Toolkit introduces the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) tool, a screener developed by a team of mental health experts from the USA and considered the gold standard in suicide assessment, endorsed by institutions such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA.

Leveraging partnerships through a Training of Trainers (ToT) approach starting in late 2022, the RACE project is co-implemented by select trainers from the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association, the Department of Education, and public and private schools. 

From an initial pool of 86 trainers, the number of RACE trainers equipped in 2023 is at 200, equipping over 4,400 Gatekeepers nationwide, bringing life-saving knowledge to schools and communities that need it the most.

86 guidance counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists from the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association and Psychological Association of the Philippines convene during the RACE Against Suicide Training of Trainers (ToT) in November 2022.

As of March 2023, 172 out of 223 respondents (77.1%) have used the C-SSRS tool. Through these respondents who used the tool, 763 students have been identified as “at-risk”. Consequently, out of 763 identified students, 331 (43.3%) have been referred for further assessment and 292 (88.2%) were assessed and received the help they need.

“The true success story unfolds in schools across the Philippines. Every passionate teacher, counselor, and personnel applying their knowledge in real-life situations contributes to the vision of a mentally healthy nation. They are what makes the RACE Against Suicide project a movement that breathes and shares life – both to the advocate, and the reason for this advocacy,” Ms. Claire Papa of the Unilab Foundation shared.

RACE Against Suicide roll-out in SOCCSKSARGEN through PGCA Region XII Chapter.

Overall, this project emphasizes that mental health and wellbeing is not just the work of professionals – it is everyone’s responsibility. This year, the project is set to be rolled out in colleges and universities in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Unilab Foundation, Inc.

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