Greetings,
My name is Dr. Audrey Elion. I am excited and grateful to serve as Chair of the Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN). I reside in Memphis and also serve as the Chair of the Memphis Grand Region which includes Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties. We had our first Advisory Council meeting on February 2, 2023, in Franklin, TN. It was a productive and inspiring gathering. We were able to vote on and approve new Bylaws for TSPN, and we worked diligently on ways to strengthen our work across the state and on ways to prevent suicide and save lives. Last year TSPN focused on strategic plans to advocate, educate, plan interventions, to increase membership, teach others in the community about suicide prevention, update bylaws and develop strategies to increase community engagement and decrease the number of suicides in our state.
My vision for 2023 is focused on ACTION. We spent a large part of the last time period planting seeds and now is the time for reaping. So, it is appropriate at present to put our plans into action.
This means that we:
Act on the plans discussed last year.
Commit to at least three projects within our regions engaging previously existing and new community groups.
Take time to listen to our members (including surveys, one - on- one contact and emails) and acknowledge them for their efforts.
Initiate subcommittees or task forces within our regions to execute the plans.
Observe and make recommendations where needed.
Needs Assessment (Continuously assess what needs our communities have and have discussions within our groups for future planning.)
I am looking forward to a successful year and encourage each of you to connect with your Regional Chairs and Directors. Feel free to share your ideas with them on ways to become more involved in the community and to educate others about suicide prevention.
I would like to introduce the newly elected members of the Executive Board. Evelyn Nite (past Chair), Dr. Audrey Elion (Chair), Becky Stoll (Chair-elect), Sean Jones (Vice-Chair), Heatherly Sifford (Secretary), Nora Fielding (Treasurer) and Dr. Sam Bernard (Emeritus Chair).
