Nonprofit Starting Text-Message Counseling Service for College Students of Color

Stephen C. Rose
Stephen C. Rose

Stephen C. Rose was a graduate of Harvard University and held a master’s degree. But Rose, after suffering from mental illness, committed suicide at the age of 29. Studies have shown that students of color at American colleges and universities are significantly less likely to seek help from mental health practitioners than White students.

The nonprofit Steve Fund was created by family and friends of Stephen Rose in 2014 to raise money for programs aimed at improving the mental health of students of color in the United States. It held its second annual conference at Stanford University on November 20.

A statement on the Steve Fund website notes that “right at this moment, there are students of color who are failing academically, suffering emotionally and/or in some cases facing serious risk, because population-specific factors influencing mental health are too poorly understood and not acted upon. We are taking action. We are dedicated to the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.”

The Steve Fund recently entered into an agreement with Crisis Text Line to provide targeted online text messaging counseling for college students of color. Young people of color will be recruited and trained to act as counselors for college students of color who seek help from Crisis Text Line. The service targeting college students of color is expected to begin this coming winter. The service will be free to users. To date, Crisis Text Line has received more than 10 million messages seeking help in areas such as domestic abuse, eating disorders, child abuse, runaways, and dating violence.

“Research shows that differences in the ethnic background of students require culturally sensitive approaches to fully support their mental health and emotional well-being,” said Stephanie Bell-Rose, Steve’s mother. “But these needs are understudied, and underserved.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Terrence Mitchell was appointed executive director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. Faye Belgrave has been named vice president and chief diversity officer at Virginia Commonwealth University and Tammy Bennett is the inaugural vice president for inclusive excellence in philanthropy at the University of Cincinnati Foundation.

Federal Government Calls on States to End Funding Disparities at Black Land-Grant Universities

The federal government sent letters to 16 governors emphasizing the over $12 billion disparity in funding between land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their non-HBCU land-grant peers in their states. Unequitable appropriated funding of the 1890 institutions in the states ranges from $172 million to $2.1 billion.

A Trio of Black Scholars in New Faculty Roles at Universities

The City College of New York has appointed Jervette R. Ward as director of the Black Studies Program. Scotti Branton is a new assistant professor of communication at the University of Arkansas, and professor Danille Taylor was appointed director of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum.

Shaw University to Expand Its Presence to Research Triangle Park

The collaboration will secure Shaw University a dedicated office space within Frontier RTP innovation campus, located in the heart of the city's new vibrant downtown area. The space will include private offices and an administrative area dedicated to Shaw University, as well as classroom space.

Featured Jobs