CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - A U of I police program helps with mental health support for students on campus through dogs. 

COAST, or the Community Outreach and Support Team, is the program looking to help students who are going through a mental health crisis. One of four therapy dogs at the U of I is Rosie, who has been making a campus impact. 

Her handler, U of I Officer Michael Mitrou, remembers the first time he deployed her, when a student in one of the dorms was suicidal. The student was missing home and her dogs, and Rosie knew just what to do. 

These therapy dogs have an important role, as the National Alliance on Mental Health found 27 percent of students struggle with some form of mental illness. About 60 percent of students experience loneliness - one of the most common depression symptoms - and 1,000 students die by suicide on average each year in the United States. 

Rosie's impact in COAST, which was established in late 2020, has been widespread. She's made friends with everyone she has met on campus. 

To get here, Rosie went through training in Florida, where non-violent inmates trained her to be a therapy animal. 

Rosie works in conjunction with the REACH program, which can provide social workers to respond to crisis calls. Anyone who knows a person in a crisis or is having mental health issues themselves can reach out to U of I police and schedule a therapy K9 visit. 

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached by calling (800)273-8255. A person does not have to be at the point of suicide to call.