Behind the Scenes in State-Level Suicide Prevention: Making a Difference

When Heather Brown assumed her position in 2004 as Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the state of Arizona, she inherited a state suicide prevention plan, modest resources, and the mandate to make prevention activities a priority. How could she best make an impact with her limited resources?

She turned to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), which has been designed and managed by HHD since 2000. In partnership with several organizations, SPRC has served as the nation’s premier resource center for suicide prevention for coordinators like Brown. Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHD staff provides information, skills, and resources to all types of organizations and individuals across the nation. In 2005, SPRC received funding to continue this critical work for five more years.

“Arizona has a large American Indian population with very high suicide rates, and SPRC put me in touch with a specialist in this area,” says Brown, adding that SPRC helped her to research and analyze the characteristics of the state’s highest risk populations. SPRC staff, like other HHD training and technical assistance specialists, take pride in providing culturally competent and appropriate resources to grantees.

SPRC has also brought together the nation’s collective wisdom to develop a collection of materials and assistance for professionals who work to prevent suicide:

• Suicide prevention training materials for physicians, psychologists, counselors, and social workers, developed with the American Association of Suicidology
• Materials for first responders—police, EMS technicians, fire fighters, medical examiners—to prepare them to respond sensitively and effectively to a suicide call, developed with the Link Counseling Center (see sidebar)
• Guides to help emergency room staff to direct family members and the attempter to services and resources that can help them through their present episode and avoid future attempts with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (see related story)
• Multi-day trainings on strategic planning to assist states and communities in their prevention efforts, with the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA

Breaking Down Barriers

From the beginning, SPRC staff has worked to break down barriers in a field that is often fragmented in its funding, program delivery, and approach.

“We enjoy a unique position in the field of suicide prevention,” says Lloyd Potter, SPRC director. “Potential partners and collaborators have been more receptive to us as a neutral but engaged partner. And reciprocally, without an entrenched agenda of our own, we’re embracing the best of what the field of suicide prevention has to offer, by engaging all partners and philosophies that have something meaningful to contribute, that have something science-based to offer.”

SPRC has also devoted considerable efforts to building collaborations with state coalitions. The center has worked with all 50 states to develop and implement their statewide suicide prevention plans through a series of conferences, trainings, and print and electronic materials.

Arizona’s Brown attended a 2005 SPRC regional conference in Oregon. Says Brown, “I was able to meet other suicide prevention professionals who were addressing some of the same issues we were. The conference also allowed us to gather people from all over Arizona. We had regional diversity, ethnic diversity, and representatives of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community. In all, 27 people from Arizona came to the conference. This was an opportunity to come together in a neutral environment to focus on our common goal.”