August 2024 Call to Action

The monthly newsletter of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN)

Call to Action

TSPN cordially invites all to our statewide conference, planned for 9:00 AM-2:30 PM CDT on Friday, September 27, at Trevecca Community Church in Nashville. This year’s theme is “Elevating Hope and Help for High-Risk Populations”. Subject-matter experts will discuss programs, resources, and support for individuals known to be at higher risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

We are honored to welcome Commissioner Marie Williams of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, who will personally induct this year's members of our statewide Advisory Council, and Ralph Alvarado, MD, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, who will provide our keynote.

The event is open to the general public, and we hope to see you there! Free registration is available at tinyurl.com/TSPN24...For information on sponsorship levels and benefits, contact TSPN Executive Assistant Christina Allen at callen@tspn.org.

For this month's call to action, we encourage you to register yourself and share the word about our conference. We look forward to offering education and fellowship to enhance our community's awareness of and engagement in suicide prevention.

In this issue

Statewide conference
Welcoming Christina Allen to TSPN
Photos highlighting regional work
Upcoming Suicide Prevention Awareness Month events
Online resources for insurance parity

and more!

Introducing TSPN's Executive Assistant

Christina Allen started with TSPN on August 5. She is Vladimir Enlow's, successor, following his promotion to the new role of TAADAS/TSPN Communications Assistant.

Christina Allen holds a BA in Psychology and a minor in Political Science from the University of Tennessee. Her lived experience and those of her loved ones inspires her dedication to creating meaningful change for people and communities facing mental health challenges.

Christina continued her education in clinical rehabilitation counseling. She used innovative virtual reality therapies to help people with disabilities, with a focus on rehabilitation work for veterans. She also pursued further education in Applied Behavior Analysis. As a behavioral therapist, she engaged children with autism in evidence-based interventions supporting their growth and development.

As the Executive Assistant for TSPN, Christina is excited to return to her true passion, eager to leverage her diverse skills and experiences to contribute the Network's mission.

Become a sponsor

TSPN is hosting a Statewide Virtual 5k event during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September. This event will help raise both funds and awareness to further TSPN's mission to educate the community on best-practices for suicide prevention and available community support.

Because this event is virtual, you can choose to walk or run at times that work best for your schedule.

Participants will receive a medal. Early Bird registration is available at $20 through August 31 and will increase to $25 during September. Sponsorship opportunities are also be made available.

Be sure to check out details at tspn.org and our social media channels.

Thanks to our SILVER SPONSOR

TSPN Southeast Regional Director Bryan Barks shared TSPN resources with educators and school leaders at the statewide Career and Technical Conference in Chattanooga (joined by Jasper, at right).

TSPN South Central Regional Director Mary Anne Christian brought resources to the Lewis County Back-to-School event, where former NFL quarterback Brett Ratliff helped provide an exciting start to the new school year.

Our thanks to Delta Specialty Hospital for sponsoring lunch at the Greater Memphis regional meeting held at Hope Church in Cordova on July 15.

Interested in promoting your agency and your work to our regional members? Contact your Regional Director about a lunch sponsorship of your own (or see regional calendar at the bottom for contact details).

Michelle West co-led an ASIST (keep reading to learn more about ASIST!) training on July 15-16 at the Sonesta Nashville Airport for the United South and Eastern Tribes Inc.. Nations from six states as far away as Maine were represented at this event.

Mary Anne Christian and TSPN Southwest Regional Director Emily Lunn are pictured with recent trainees from an ASIST session held in Jackson. ASIST is a two-day training module that helps all caregivers become more comfortable, competent and confident when dealing with persons at risk. Find out more about ASIST at https://tspn.org/events-training, and contact the TSPN central office at tspn@tspn.org to arrange an ASIST session for your agency.

TSPN is accepting submissions for this year's "Loved Never Dies" Memorial Quilt to be dedicated at this year's Survivors of Suicide Loss Conference on November 2. For more information, visit the quilt information page at tspn.org/quilt or email Karyl Chastain Beal at karylofcolumbia@cs.com.

C-SSRS is a short questionnaire to estimate someone's suicide risk and options for support. Anyone can use it, even if they don't have formal mental health training.

TSPN offers a set of printed quick-reference badges featuring the C-SSRS questions. You can add it to your lanyard with your other badges or keep it in your wallet. Visit tspn.org/cssrs to order badges for your agency or event or to register for a 1-2 hour training to learn the finer points of the C-SSRS protocol.

Memphis 901 FC welcomes TSPN to AutoZone Park for its home game against Hartford Athletic on Wednesday, September 11 at 7 PM Central. Get your tickets at https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/TSPN2024. For questions, please reach out to Josh Curtis at jcurtis@memphis901fc.com.

The Southeast Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Summit is scheduled for September 13-14 in the Tennessee Room at UTC-Chattanooga. The event will feature speakers, vendors, and breakout sessions on hot-button topics in suicide prevention and mental wellness. Full details and registration are available at bit.ly/3y2iKJv. For questions or comments, contact Bryan Barks at bbarks@tspn.org.

TSPN's Northeast Region will host its Resilient Minds Summit on September 17th from 10 AM-2 PM EST at Summit Leadership, located at 3515 Bristol Highway in Johnson City. The event will feature a no-cost QPR suicide prevention training, and a resource fair with over 25 vendors represented.

For attendee, vendor, and sponsor registration, visit https://rb.gy/eq5ikc. Additional questions or inquiries may be directed to Cori Johnson at cjohnson@tspn.org.

Join TSPN's Greater Memphis region for its annual conference on September 18 at Hope Church in Cordova. Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, is among the guest speakers. Full details are available via Eventbrite.

Our thanks to breakfast sponsor Crestwyn Behavioral Health and the many vendors signed up to support this event.

TAADAS offers online resources for insurance parity

TAADAS has been at the forefront of advocating for equal health care coverage of addiction treatment and recovery for several years. Our organization has been part of a coalition called the Tennessee Parity Project that was assembled by NAMI Tennessee in 2016.

As an outgrowth of those efforts, TAADAS has launched a new Tennessee Parity Project page on its website dedicated to promoting awareness and educating the public about health insurance fairness for mental health and substance abuse.

Check out the new parity website page here

Here, you will find training videos and tips on:

Recognizing potential law violations in prior authorizations/denials;
Getting your health plan to change a denial or reduction in care;
Filing a complaint against your health plan;
Getting help from the state Department of Commerce & Insurance.

We will continue to grow this page and expand our resources in FY 2024-25 and plan to offer more trainings on this topic in the coming months. For more information, please contact Alisa LaPolt at alisa@taadas.org. And share this resource with your networks!