Suicide Prevention Resource Center Refunded by U.S. Government

Late September brought very good news to HHD, when we learned that our national resource center—the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)—was refunded for five additional years. "HHD is delighted that the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has shown continued confidence in our work," says Cheryl Vince Whitman, HHD director. "The new funding allows us to deepen our work with communities as they develop the important work of promoting mental health and finding strategies to prevent suicide."

SPRC assists states, territories, tribes, and communities to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate suicide prevention programs. It does this through customized technical assistance, publications, online resources, trainings, and disseminating information on best practices. The renewal award allows SPRC to continue this work for five additional years, depending upon funding availability. SPRC will focus on providing assistance to grantees of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services as they progress toward meeting the goals of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Partner organizations include the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Association of Suicidology, and the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA.

"In our first three years, we established SPRC as a primary source for suicide prevention information that is evidence-based, practical, and relevant," says Lloyd Potter, director of SPRC. "During this period, we worked with our partners to create new training curricula for a variety of audiences. The renewed support will enable us to disseminate these products broadly and to work closely with the new SAMHSA state, tribal, and campus grantees to implement programs that will ultimately reduce youth suicide."

SPRC will provide customized technical assistance to the 13 states and 1 tribal authority newly funded to develop and implement youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies. This will include services provided by prevention support specialists, targeted email lists, webinars, and other distance learning opportunities. SPRC will also be a primary source of suicide prevention information for 22 newly-funded institutions of higher education to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems in an effort to prevent suicide.

The newly funded states and tribal authority are:

• Native American Rehab Association of NW, Inc., Portland, OR
• Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix, AZ
• Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, Oklahoma City, OK
• Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, Augusta, ME
• Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA
• Missouri Department of Mental Health, Jefferson City, MO
• Tennessee Department of Mental Health, Nashville, TN
• State of Nevada, Carson City, NV
• NAMI New Hampshire, Concord, NH
• New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe, NM
• Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
• New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
• Department of Public Health and Human Services, Helena, MT

November 14, 2005