Taking Steps Toward Gatekeeper Training in a Homelessness Service Context

Given that many people experiencing homelessness (PEH) do not reach out for help or utilize mental health services, there is a pressing need to integrate suicide prevention programming into homelessness service settings. To date, no research has sought to implement any well-established suicide prevention programs in a homelessness service context. Gatekeeper programming—a common strategy in educational institutions that seeks to promote mental health service utilization by training people who are well-positioned in social networks to recognize peers in distress and link them to professional care—may be an ideal fit for under-resourced service settings. However, gatekeeper program effectiveness is likely to be influenced by the help-seeking patterns in a social network and whether the training is adapted for the distinct implementation context.