Edition 63 | July 2023

Welcome to the July 2023 Office of Suicide Prevention newsletter!

Lina Vanegas, MSW (she/her) is a displaced/adopted person from Bogota, Colombia. She is a national speaker, trainer and consultant on transracial adoption, trauma, suicide, and mental health. She has also been impacted by suicide loss in her life. Her lived experience has greatly influenced the work that she does. She works with adopted and displaced people providing support on the lived experience of adoption. She is an advocate for making what is known as "adoption" be recognized as an adverse childhood experience. She has appeared on NPR, multiple panels and various podcasts, including: Hope Illuminated-Episode 117, Adoptees Dish, When They Were Young: Amplifying Voices of Adoptees, Adoptees Crossing Lines and she has a joint podcast called Rescripting The Narrative. Lina has presented to the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission and at the Colorado School Safety Resource Center (CSSRC) Youth Suicide Prevention Symposium. Lina supports the Commission’s Postvention Workgroup and Colorado organizations looking to better understand the intersection between adoption and suicide prevention. You can find her on Twitter as LinaLeadsWLove and on Instagram @linaleadswithlove.

Do you have a Rockstar Partner in your Colorado community that you would like to see featured in our next newsletter? Nominate them here by completing our Rockstar Partner Nomination Form.

🌟NEW🌟 Ask the OSP Community!

Do you have questions for the Office of Suicide Prevention or Colorado suicide prevention community? This new segment of our newsletter will feature the questions our community members are asking and provide space to build connections by sharing stories from across the state.  

This month we’re asking “How can we build support and education across the Colorado Coroner network to encourage the sharing of death data to healthcare systems?”. Submit your EXPERIENCE here. Responses will be summarized and shared in the August 2023 Newsletter. 

Have a question to ask the OSP Community? Submit your QUESTIONS here. 

Last month we asked “What can we learn from communities that tend to have lower rates of suicidal despair, suicide attempts, and/or deaths by suicide?” Past questions and answers, including last month’s, are available here.

Colorado-National Collaborative (CNC)

Last month, OSP hosted CNC grantees to meet in person in Aurora, CO, for our first in-person meeting since the CNC kick-off meeting in 2019! Funded CNC partners representing the 15 priority CNC counties connected with other CNC teams to discuss challenges and successes they’ve experienced, share ideas, and learn more about evaluation efforts that are taking place. The OSP is grateful for all CNC partners who joined the grantee meeting and for all of your work implementing a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention in your priority counties!

Last month, in celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month, Tri-County Health Network’s Colorado-National Collaborative team hosted several events, including a language justice event, a community fiesta, a film night, a “Know Your Rights” workshop, a Spanish language book club, an open house to distribute resources and vaccines, and a Healing from Immigration Trauma Workshop.

Leveraging Community Context, Data, and Resources to Inform Suicide Prevention Strategies: This recent publication highlights suicide prevention community-based solutions and evaluation efforts by CNC grantees in El Paso County and their Suicide Prevention Collaborative.

Imagine Zero, The Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County has joined forces with the Fort Collins Mural Project to create a one-of-a-kind interactive mural centered around youth mental health.

Image from @jbeanart on Instagram.

State Partners

CDPHE’s Colorado Household Medication and Sharps Takeback program location finder is now connected to the myColorado app! Instructions for accessing the safe medication disposal location finder through the myColorado app can be found here.

CDPHE’s Office of STI/HIV/Viral Hepatitis Training Unit, is hosting in-person trainings in Durango and Pueblo 7/31-8/4. The trainings are free and open to any agency whether or not they receive funding through CDPHE. As the trainings are in the context of STIs, HIV, and viral hepatitis, they are most useful for individuals working with priority populations. Explore the course descriptions to learn more.

CDPHE has awarded $67,550 through its Forward Together campaign to 18 nonprofit organizations across the state dedicated to enhancing the well-being of Colorado's youth and encouraging positive relationships within their communities. Learn more about Forward Together and the new grantees here (available in English and Spanish). 

The Office of Gun Violence is hiring a Program Coordinator (position closing 8/4/23). Learn more and apply here.

If you and your health system have engaged with the Zero Suicide framework in recent years, OSP welcomes you to the Colorado ZS Workshop on 8/8/23! Applicant organizations can learn more about this opportunity at the following link; health systems should have at least 2 representatives from their implementation group apply using the form, as individuals (teams will be capped at 4 people).

The next Zero Suicide Learning Collaborative will be held on July 27th at 10am MST. This Learning Collaborative will cover care considerations for patients experiencing suicidality and using substances. Please email [email protected] to be added to this calendar invite and listserv.

Follow-Up Project

Colorado expands program to help people after a suicide attempt - 9 News interview with OSP Director Lena Heilmann highlighting our partners at Colorado Crisis Services, Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners’ Follow-Up Project, and the Second Wind Fund. Spanish-language version of this interview is here.

Suicide Prevention Commission

The next Quarterly Suicide Prevention Commission Meeting will be on Friday, July 28th, 2023 from 9:00am to 11:00am. This meeting will be virtual. The Commission is proud to offer all Commission Quarterly Meetings with live Spanish interpretation. 

OSP has a new Suicide Prevention Commission Coordinator! Seth Kaneen (they/them/elle) joins our team most recently as a Tech Recruiter at Google. Seth has previously worked in Higher Education within Residential Life and has an MS degree in Counseling. Seth specifically worked to build gender inclusive housing recommendations for queer/trans students that aided in Suicide Prevention and built procedures for Postvention following a death by Suicide. Seth is passionate about Suicide Prevention work and excited to be in this role as Commission Coordiantor.  If you have any questions about the Commission, please reach out to Seth at [email protected].

The Suicide Prevention Commission is scheduled to repeal on September 1, 2024, per Colorado law. Prior to the repeal date, the Commission will undergo a sunset review to evaluate the Commission’s impact over its 10-year existence and make recommendations for its future. If you are interested in participating in the stakeholder engagement process in order to provide your feedback and overall input regarding the Commission’s work, please use this link, and click on the “Provide Input” box to access the appropriate Google Form from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) website. 

The Commision is accepting applications. If you are interested in applying for any of the open Commissioner seats, please apply here. For more information on the Commission,  please click here. 

The Suicide Prevention Commission supports multiple workgroups: Older Adults; Youth-Specific Initiatives; and Postvention. Click here to sign up for any of the workgroups. All workgroup materials can be found here.

The Commission's Postvention Workgroup is looking to identify existing suicide postvention written resources in the Spanish language. The Postvention Resource Gathering Form is available in both English and Spanish. Please submit resources and share the Resource Gathering Form with your partners and networks!

The Youth-Specific Initiatives (YSI) Workgroup is looking for passionate young people (aged 12-24) who want to help prevent suicide in Colorado. Youth representatives will have the unique opportunity to build advocacy abilities, gain real-world governmental experience, connect with statewide public health leaders, and truly inform Colorado’s approach to youth suicide prevention. 

On paper, being a YSI member involves attending a meeting every other month, responding to emails, and completing occasional asynchronous material reviews. It is a time commitment of about an hour a month (a 1.5 hour bi-monthly meeting and 30 minutes of monthly asynchronous work). Youth can participate for as long as they would like, but it is favorable that new members remain engaged for at least one year.

We will be welcoming new members at our virtual meeting on August 17th, 2023 from 3:30 - 5 pm. If you are interested or if you would like to nominate an outstanding youth, please email Aimee Resnick at [email protected].

Training

The next CAMS training will be in person on Thursday, August 17th, 2023 from 8:30am-4:30pm. More information and registration is available here. 

If you are interested in attending a different virtual CAMS training session, please join our interest list.

Closing soon! CALL FOR REGISTRATIONS: AMSR, Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk Training provided by the Education Development Center. This training is a full-day virtual commitment geared toward folks working in a clinical capacity and is transferrable to multiple settings. AMSR Training teaches clinicians and other healthcare professionals who conduct suicide risk assessments how to determine the level of suicide risk for an individual.The training provides a language for the clinician to use with non-clinical staff who are also involved in the care that the individual is receiving.

Dates for AMSR Training:

Click here to REGISTER for an OSP Sponsored date

August 1st, AMSR Inpatient:@ 8am-4pm

August 9th, AMSR Outpatient: @ 8am-4pm

August 14th, AMSR Outpatient: @ 8am-4pm

To read more about this incredible opportunity go directly to the Registration Form.

OSP is proud to announce the opportunity to attend a Columbia Protocol Suicide Screening and Assessment Training with Columbia Lighthouse Project, led by Dr. Kelly Posner Grestenhaber! These trainings come at no cost to you. 

The Columbia Protocol, or C-SSRS, has been implemented widely at state, national, and international levels. These upcoming sessions will focus particularly on youth suicide prevention across Colorado. If you work with youth in any capacity, I strongly encourage you to attend a one-hour training. 

Dates for August:

REGISTER HERE

August 1st @ 12pm-1pm

August 9th @ 12pm-1pm

August 14th @12pm-1pm 

To read more about this incredible opportunity go directly to the Registration Form. After signing up, you will be contacted directly with more registration details. If you are interested in signing up multiple people from your organization please have them individually register.

The Office of Suicide Prevention has updated the instructions for accessing the LivingWorks Start gatekeeper training. Please see this instruction sheet for more details. Please visit the Office of Suicide Prevention’s Training webpage for more information on CAMS, LivingWorks Start, and much more!

Please note: There is an "Upcoming Events" section at the end of the newsletter. If your browser clips this email, please be sure to click "View entire message" to access all of the content!

Equity

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month. Mental Health America’s toolkit for BIPOC Mental Health Month is here and MHTTC Network has compiled resources here. 

Preventing Suicidal Behavior Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adolescents and Young Adults

Training Through Echo Colorado: Transgender Health: Comprehensive Approaches in Primary Care

Decolonization is not a Metaphor - analyzes multiple settler moves towards innocence in order to forward “an ethic of incommensurability” that recognizes what is distinct and what is sovereign for project(s) of decolonization in relation to human and civil rights based social justice projects.

Mind Solutions Denver: Therapy Resource for BIPOC youth

Interactive Crisis Services for Indigenous People Map: Map of Crisis Intervention Services for Indigenous People

New dataset: The Contextual Determinants of Health (CDOH) provides access to measures of disparities, policies, and counts, by state and county, for historically marginalized populations in the United States, including Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latina/o/e/x, LGBTQ+ persons and women. 

Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavioral Health: Results from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health - presents data on key substance use and mental health indicators by sexual identity and gender among adults aged 18 or older in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Education released Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments for LGBTQI+ Students, a new toolkit that includes resources and examples of policies and practices that schools and districts can consider developing to support LGBTQI+ students and families.



Black Suicidology Summit on-demand webinar recording is available here.

General

HHS Publishes National Model Standards for Substance Use, Mental Health, and Family Peer Worker Certifications - Peer Workforce Integration is a Primary Goal of President Biden's National Mental Health Strategy.

Reframing the Key Questions Regarding Screening for Suicide Risk

Big Ideas for Advancing Suicide Prevention - Blog by Dr. David Jobes.

On-demand webinar now available - Empirical, Clinical, and Conceptual Evidence Converges to Indicate Good Support for the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide.

Youth and Young Adults

Online Spaces: A Double-Edged Sword for LGBTQ Young People of Color: NIHCM’s new infographic, created in partnership with The Trevor Project, explores the impact of online spaces on the mental health of LGBTQ young people and delves into which specific online platforms are currently seen as safe and supportive by LGBTQ young people of color.

Webinar recording: Research, Practice, and Data Informed Investigations of Child and Youth Suicide: A Science to Service and Service to Science Approach

Beyond Acceptance, It Is Parental Support That Makes A Difference For LGBTQ Youth - Good parenting practices are key to shaping adolescent development and can help prevent depression.

Student-athletes aren't immune from suicide risk. Colleges are taking notice.

Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among U.S. Adults — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011–2020 - report from the CDC.

Older Adults

COAST-IT (Connecting Older Adults and Students through Interprofessional Teamwork) pairs older adults from the community experiencing isolation and loneliness with a CU Anschutz clinical student and they become social connection partners for the minimum of an academic year. Learn more here. 

The hidden loneliness epidemic endangers Coloradans, especially older adults. This article discusses the health risks associated with loneliness and isolation.

Lethal Means Safety

Updated Firearm Suicide Trends webpage from the CDC.

Cross-Pollinated Resources

Tough as a Mother has launched their weekly support group, Tougher Together, a community of recovering mom. Hosted by HardBeauty, this group for moms on a recovery journey meets via Zoom every monday at 6:30pm MT. More information and the Zoom link are available here.

Youth focus group research study - TOMORROW, Thursday, July 27th, 2-3:30pm via Zoom. Partners for Children’s Mental Health is seeking LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-24 who are comfortable talking about mental health and suicide prevention. A $50 Walmart gift card will be provided to participating youth. 

Serving the Mental Health Needs of Persons with a Developmental Disability: Sign Up For August Trainings Here, August 16, 17, 23 & 24, 2023, 10:30am - 1:30pm MT.