The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation (The JEHF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity created after the 2012 suicide of Jordan Harris, a remarkable young woman from North Richland Hills, Texas, who was in her senior year at the University of Michigan. Jordan was high school valedictorian, National Merit Scholarship winner, a tireless volunteer, and a compassionate champion of those less fortunate. Jordan suffered from a brief bout of depression and ended her life without warning, leaving her devastated family and friends to wonder if they could have done more to save her life. Jordan’s loved ones discovered there were no local programs available in Tarrant County and the contiguous counties providing evidence-based suicide prevention training and education. The JEHF was founded in 2014 to undertake that role in Tarrant County. The JEHF’s founding board wanted to ensure an extra step to help remove the stigma of mental illness and incorporated a depression-research funding component into the mission. The services provided by The JEHF are unduplicated in Tarrant County, making partnerships and collaborations with other nonprofits, municipal agencies, hospitals, and educational institutions critical to the resource and referral portion of our model.
The mission of The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation is to eradicate suicide by funding depression research, creating awareness through education, erasing stigma, and providing hope to those who are struggling in silence. The JEHF’s nonprofit model is unique in that it seeks to fill service gaps by providing evidence-based suicide prevention training and education programs, while collaborating with more than two-dozen local partners dedicated to mental health in the community.
The majority of the services provided by The JEHF are 100% donor funded through support garnered from individuals, foundations, and corporations.
In 2021, The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation trained 2,733 individual “gatekeepers” during 142 – QPR suicide prevention trainings. –
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, Refer, and gives trainees the skills and tools they need to help someone who is suicidal. The school-based Hope Squad suicide prevention program is now present in more than 80 North Texas schools and ensures 70,000 students have access to suicide prevention services on their campuses. This evidence-based program uses a peer helping model and provides suicide prevention training to student members elected by their classmates. Since its inception The JEHF has disbursed $460,000 in research funding that focuses on depression, mental health, and suicide prevention.
JEHF Programs:
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer. It is suicide prevention training designed to give trainees in our community the confidence and competence to help someone at risk for suicide.
Parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, squad leaders, foremen, police officers, advisors, caseworkers, firefighters, and other community members can learn these 3 simple steps to teach someone how to recognize the warning signs, offer hope, and get help. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the tools to save a life.
Beyond the Qube is suicide prevention training geared toward the workplace. When employees are provided with QPR training, they’ll learn actionable, simple steps to feel comfortable asking a coworker about their mental health.
Hope Squad is a school-based peer support program that empowers students to take action to prevent suicidein their schools. . Advisors train Hope Squad members on how to identify at-risk students, provide friendship, and seek help from an adult. –
Let’s Taco ‘Bout QPR is a free suicide prevention training combined with Taco Tuesday to bring our community together and give every person the confidence and competence to help someone at risk for suicide. Attendees are given the knowledge and “know how” to look for the signs of someone struggling, ask the important questions to assess the situation, and the tools to help them get the help they need.
There are many ways to become involved in the programs The JEHF offers as well as volunteer opportunities through its Ambassador Program, information sessions, third-party events, and speaking opportunities. Please reach out to Development & Communications Coordinator Erin Buck to learn more: e.buck@jehfoundationfw.org.
For additional information and schedules of our trainings please visit our website: www.jordanharrisfoundation.org