Undergraduate students attend one of the REACH trainings offered during Ohio State’s first REACH on Repeat Challenge Day Oct. 7, 2025, in the Dave Griner Room at the RPAC. Attendees became certified REACH suicide prevention gatekeepers through the training. Credit: Courtesy of Laura Lewis, Assistant Director of Ohio State Suicide Prevention Program
A one-day suicide prevention training event – REACH on Repeat Challenge Day – is returning for its second year on Sept. 23 with a goal of surpassing last year’s record of 108 certified REACH suicide prevention gatekeepers.?
This year, the challenge will expand from the Columbus campus to all six Ohio State campuses.?
Laura Lewis, assistant director of Ohio State’s Suicide Prevention Program, said the 90-minute training follows the REACH acronym: recognize warning signs, engage with empathy, ask directly about suicide, communicate hope and help suicidal individuals access care and treatment.?
Lewis said having a record to beat can motivate people to respond to the call to action and learn the skills to help someone in distress.
“Anybody can help save a life,” Lewis said. “Anybody can.”
Taylor Youngpeter, a business operations analyst at Ohio State’s College of Nursing Total Health Care Center and certified REACH trainer, said her personal experiences led her to become involved in suicide prevention.?
Youngpeter is a suicide attempt survivor and lost a close friend to suicide nearly five years ago.
Now beginning her third year as a REACH trainer, Youngpeter said the role has allowed her to help break the stigma surrounding conversations about suicide.
“What I believe every human should be doing, is helping another human,” Youngpeter said.
Youngpeter said she teaches REACH participants that they do not need to be experts in the field to have a conversation about suicide.
“We want to help the participants and the people that are being trained,” Youngpeter said. “If they ever had to have the conversation about suicide, that they could ask the question directly about suicide.”?
Youngpeter said she believes increasing the number of people who receive REACH training can help make those skills and resources more widely available.
“How amazing would it be to be that little stepping stone to get them in the right place at the right time?” Youngpeter said.
Lewis said training on the Columbus campus will take place every two hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Dave Griner Room at the RPAC. Preregistration is required, and participants will receive a free care bag and be entered into raffle prize drawings.
Lewis said Mental Health Matters and Omega Gamma are the two student organizations helping sponsor the event on the Columbus campus. The Office of Student Life’s Recreational Sports is also a partner, according to the Ohio State Suicide Prevention website.
Maddie Nester, a third-year in biology and REACH trainer with Peers REACHing Out, a professional undergraduate student cohort of Ohio State’s Suicide Prevention Program, said having training offered throughout the day can make the event more accessible for people with different schedules.
“Come with an open mind,” Nester said. “If you come wanting to receive the information and willing to learn, I think that you can get a lot out of that.”
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988. Text HOME 741741 for free, 24/7 confidential crisis support. Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or visit the OSU Suicide Prevention website for more resources.
