Awareness Event at Riverside Park (featuring music and speakers)

Free and Open to the Public

• SPEAKERS
• STORIES OF HOPE
• INFORMATIONAL WALK IN THE PARK
• MUSIC BY THREE LEGGED MARLEY

Speakers rain or shine. Music weather permitting.

The Opportunities and Challenges of Suicide Prevention
- Morton M. Silverman, M.D., is the Senior Science Advisor to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Dr. Silverman served as the first Chief of the Center for Prevention Research at the NIMH (1983-1985) and as the first Associate Administrator for Prevention at ADAMHA (1985-1987).

Dr. Silverman will review the most up-to-date epidemiological data regarding suicides and suicide attempts, as well as current thinking about risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs. He will present different models for understanding the suicidal process and demonstrate their applicability for developing and implementing suicide prevention programs, with an emphasis on public health approaches. He will present an overview of the state-of-the-art in evidence-based practices for preventing suicide, and suggest a roadmap for developing community-based suicide prevention programs.
Session objectives:

1. Become familiar with the challenges to mounting suicide prevention programs
2. Identify opportunities to implement community-based suicide prevention programs

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Man Therapy™: An Innovative Approach to Suicide Prevention for Working Aged Men
- Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D., as a clinical psychologist, mental health advocate, faculty member and survivor of her brother’s suicide, Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas sees the issues of suicide prevention from many perspectives.

“Women seek help, men die” was the stark conclusion of one suicide prevention researcher. The truth is that the burden of suicide rests largely on the shoulders of men of working age – about 70% of all suicide deaths fall into this category, and those men at highest risk are often the ones least likely to seek help. These facts point to the need for communities to think differently about how to reach men struggling with suicidal behavior.  The research tells us that our traditional way of doing suicide prevention doesn’t work – and that we must find new partners and new perspectives to reach suicidal men. In particular, we need to change our messaging strategies and the way we engage men to “fix themselves.” This presentation will give participants an insider’s view to the development, implementation and impact of the innovative Man Therapy™ campaign – a fully-integrated, multi-media mental health literacy campaign that uses humor to reach men of working age by “manning up” mental health.
Session objectives:

1. Understand why suicide prevention needs to target working aged men
2. Appreciate why focused communication strategy aimed at “double jeopardy” men is likely to be a successful suicide prevention strategy
3. Articulate the multiple strategies used in the Man Therapy™ campaign