Your place for CONNECTing news and updates |
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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month! |
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CT Suicide Advisory Board (CSAB) releases the Connecticut Suicide Prevention Plan 2025
The Connecticut State Suicide Prevention Plan 2025 (PLAN 2025) is a living, working document, designed to frame, organize, prioritize, and direct established and emerging suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention response efforts throughout the state through 2025. PLAN 2025 was developed through the ongoing efforts of an expanding group of professionals, those with lived experience of suicide loss, and those with lived experience of suicide attempts.
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Feelings stressed, anxious, alone?
Let's take care of ourselves and each other!
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Get Trained
Connecticut offers a lot of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention training opportunities across the state. Here are three examples:
AFSP Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention
A community-based presentation that covers the general scope of suicide, research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide. Attendees will learn the risk and warning signs of suicide, and how, together, we can help prevent it.
Length: 45-60 min Cost: FREE
Signs of Suicide Program (SOS)
A universal, school-based prevention program designed for middle school (ages 11-13) and high school (ages 13-17) students. The goals of this program are to decrease suicide and suicide attempts by increasing student knowledge and adaptive attitudes about depression; encourage personal help-seeking and/or help-seeking on behalf of a friend; reduce the stigma of mental illness; acknowledge the importance of seeking help or treatment; engage parents and school staff as partners in prevention through “gatekeeper” education; and encourage schools to develop community-based partnerships to support student mental health.
Length: 1 class period Cost: $
Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR)
Clinician specific training, AMSR presents five of the most common dilemmas faced by providers and the best practices for addressing them. Various curricula for outpatient, substance use.
Length: 1 day (6.5 hrs) Cost: $
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Get to know the CONNECTing to Care Workgroups
CONNECTing to Care is a statewide effort to integrate ALL child-serving systems into a Network of Care that equally and effectively serves all of Connecticut's children and families. In accordance with Connecticut’s Behavioral Health Plan for Children, families, state agencies, and service providers work together in partnership to implement changes that promote wellness and help children and families thrive in their communities. This work happens at local, regional and state levels.
The CONNECTing to Care workgroups invite family members and youth to participate in the work. Incentives are available for participation.
Please check out the five Connecting to Care workgroups. If you are interested in participating or would like to find out more information, please reach out to the contacts identified below.
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The CareHub workgroup is developing a family driven model to better integrate pediatric healthcare, behavioral healthcare and school supports. An important piece of this work is the goal of having all providers utilize one individualized coordinated plan of care that supports a child’s social, emotional, and physical health.
Meeting Time: Second Friday of every month | 9:00 – 10:30 am
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CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Standards) |
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The CLAS workgroup promotes the use of the enhanced national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards into Connecticut’s Network of Care to ensure that care is equitable for all of Connecticut’s families. The workgroup supports activities such as ongoing technical assistance and learning communities for organizations and providers committed to incorporating racial justice and health equity planning into their organizational processes, policies, and practices.
Meeting time: Fourth Friday of every month | 12:30 – 2:00 pm
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Social Marketing and Communications |
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The Social Marketing and Communications workgroup uses social marketing and communication strategies to enhance awareness and information sharing about mental health, suicide prevention and the available behavioral health services across the state. Informational campaigns are used to reduce stigma and discrimination, and promote system of care development, principles, and philosophy.
Workgroup Contact: Kenisha Creary, Beacon Health Options
Meeting Time: Second Thursday of every month | 12:00 – 1:00 pm
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Trauma-Informed School Mental Health Taskforce
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The vision of the Trauma-Informed School Mental Health Taskforce is that Connecticut will ensure that every student and family achieves equitable academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and physical well-being. The Taskforce supports activities to support system organization and accountability within schools; health promotion, prevention, and early identification through a trauma-informed lens; integration amongst pediatric primary care and the behavioral health system; and ensuring equitable access to culturally appropriate care.
Workgroup Contact: Jeana Bracey, Child Health and Development Institute
Meeting Time: Fourth Monday of every other month | 9:30 – 11 am
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The Workforce Development workgroup supports increased capacity, knowledge and skills of youth, families, providers and community members related to Connecticut’s Network of Care transformation efforts. The goal of the workgroup is to train, support, and mentor youth and families to provide leadership in the delivery and oversight of their own care and the system of services.
Workgroup Contact: Maguena Deslandes, FAVOR
Meeting Time: Second Friday of every month | 1:00 – 2:00 pm
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The Children's Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (CBHAC) meets on the first Friday of the month, from 10am-12pm. The next meeting is October 2, 2020.
The mission of CBHAC is to promote and enhance the provision of behavioral health services for all children in Connecticut. Appointed members and community guests attend monthly meetings to address these needs across the state. This committee must submit an annual report that provides recommendations concerning behavioral health service delivery.
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If you are receiving this CONNECTing to Care Newsletter because you Joined Our Mission – thank you! If you are receiving this newsletter because you are a Children's Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (CBHAC) member and have not yet Joined Our Mission, please consider doing it now: |
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Watch the video to learn more about Connecting to Care. |
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