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GREENSBORO – Thursday was World Suicide Prevention Day, and it saw the launch of a new program aimed at preventing a leading cause of death among college students.

UNC Greensboro was one of 17 campuses across the nation that received federal grants for suicide prevention issues. The Friends Helping Friends program at UNCG will aim to cut down on suicides among college students.

"Today's students are more stressed than they have been in the past," said Paul Brown, the outreach coordinator for the Friends Helping Friends program. "This is the generation of do more, do more, the more things you do, the more things you have graduated and have been involved in, the better student you have been."

And with the stress comes other problems.

"Suicide is the second leading cause of death of amongst college students," said Brown.

So on World Suicide Prevention Day, UNCG launched the program to address the issue.

Julie Catanzarite, who coordinates training students to help others, had a high school friend who committed suicide.

"That's always tragic, especially just for a young person who hasn't even lived their life yet," said Catanzarite.

But, like the general population, students are often reluctant to talk about mental health issues and to seek help if they have problems.

"So we really look to remove that stigma so people feel a lot more comfortable seeking help for any mental health issue," said Jason Robertson, with Student Health Services.

The booth manned at the University's student center is designed to do that. Students let others know about the program, handed out brochures and talked about getting the training.

"If we can help one or two people, we've done something," said Catanzarite.