This is a monthly newsletter from CDPHE regarding the Office of Suicide Prevention.

Edition 59 | March 2023

OFFICE OF SUICIDE PREVENTION

Welcome to the March 2023 Office of Suicide Prevention newsletter!

Rockstar Partner Spotlight!

This month's OSP Rockstar Partner is Alex Aguilera.


Alex is Tri-County Health Network's Suicide Prevention Advocate and is working with the Colorado National Collaborative (CNC) framework across Delta, Gunnison, Hindsdale, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel counties. Alex is new to the organization but has already proved to be instrumental in coalition engagement. He already is working with the six pillars identified by the CNC as focus areas for suicide prevention activities and making strides to understand all of the resources connected to those pillars in all of Region 10.


We are so happy to have Alex on the CNC team!

Do you have a Rockstar Partner in your 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 does your organization talk with partners about affirming LGBTQ+ identities as a component of suicide prevention?”. Submit your EXPERIENCE here. Responses will be summarized and shared in the April 2023 Newsletter. 


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


Past questions and answers will also be available here.

Office of Suicide Prevention Updates

The first regular session of the 74th General Assembly (Colorado's legislature) is over halfway through! This session convened on January 9, 2023. OSP continues to gear up for another busy legislative session. Please email us (CDPHE_SuicidePrevention@state.co.us) if you have any questions or are working on something policy-related that you want to share with the OSP.

OSP Funding Opportunities

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's (CDPHE) Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) and Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS) are pleased to announce the availability of funding specifically for Colorado Coroners and Medical Examiners to help us better understand and prevent suicide deaths.


The goals of this mini grant funding include 1) increasing utilization of the Suicide Death Investigation Form, 2) bringing staff from coroner agencies and medical examiner offices into local or regional suicide prevention coalitions and working groups, 3) supporting suicide loss survivors, and 4) improving the Suicide Death Investigation Form.


Urban coroner agencies/medical examiners offices can apply for up to $5,000 and rural coroner agencies can apply for up to $2,500. Find more information and apply here.

Colorado-National Collaborative

The Colorado-National Collaborative has a new CNC for Suicide Prevention information sheet. Click the link to learn more about the CNC, our partners and our goals. 


Colorado was mentioned in the February 2023 White House Report On Mental Health Research Priorities, calling out our process for developing comprehensive suicide prevention plans. See page 21 for more details!


In the News: El Paso County Suicide Prevention Summit

The Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County’s Suicide Prevention Summit hosted in January in partnership with UCCS at Berger Hall has gained some media attention from outlets such as Yahoo and MSN. Click the links to learn more!

State Partners

Sign up here to Sexual Violence Prevention (SVP) program's community research project. The SVP program will be hosting their next Advisory Team open meeting on March 27, 2023.


The Retail Marijuana Education Program is excited to announce a mini-grant opportunity to build further support for our LGBTQ+ young people across Colorado. Please apply via this short google form. Learn more here.


The Community Prevention and Early Intervention Team at CDPHE is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for the Community-Based Impaired Driving Prevention Program. For more information, visit the official posting here


The Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act provides funding to develop and implement local comprehensive health education programs in grades PK-12 to foster healthy behaviors through increasing students’ health knowledge and skills to establish and maintain their physical, emotional, social, mental, and sexual health and wellness in addition to the modification of risky behaviors. 



Applications Due: Friday, April 28, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. 

Application Information Webinar: Monday, March 20, 2023, from 2-3 p.m. 

Intent to Apply Due: Friday, March 31, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. 

Request for Application (RFA) 

For more information

Zero Suicide

The next Zero Suicide Learning Collaborative will be held on 3/23/23. This Learning Collaborative will revisit Colorado Healthcare Worker Wellbeing and Resilience with special guests from the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTCN). Please email conlin.bass@state.co.us to be added to this calendar invite and listserv. Recordings and slides from previous Learning Collaboratives can be found here.

Gun Shop Project

The Colorado Gun Shop Project has now been implemented in all 64 counties! If you would like to learn more about how gun shops and Colorado’s firearm community can help prevent suicide, please contact eric.a.jones@state.co.us.

Sleeping to Prevent Suicide

Click here to learn about how promoting healthy sleep habits among Colorado’s young people can help prevent suicide!

Suicide Prevention Commission

The first Commission Meeting of the new year with live Spanish interpretation was held on January 27, 2023. If you missed our first Quarterly Commission Meeting of 2023 the information including meeting materials and recording can be found here. The Commission is proud to offer all Commission Quarterly Meetings with live Spanish interpretation. Our next Quarterly Commission Meeting will be on Friday April 28, 2023 from 9-11:30 am


The Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission is excited to announce that we are currently accepting applications for multiple Commissioner seats. The Commission is working towards minimizing the impacts of suicide for all Coloradans. The current open seats are: Law Enforcement, Philanthropic, Colorado Business Community, Interfaith, Tribal Communities Member and Medical Provider or First Responder, please click on the various links to learn more about what the ideal candidate is  for each open seat. If you are interested in applying for any of the current Commissioner Seat openings please click here. For more information on what the Commission is and what being a Commissioner entails please click  here. 


The information including meeting materials and recording for our first Commission meeting of 2023 can be found here. Please reach out the Commission Coordinator, Alise Nichols with any questions. 


The Suicide Prevention Commission supports multiple workgroups: an Older Adults Workgroup; a Youth-Specific Initiatives Workgroup; the Governor’s Challenge Workgroup to Support Service Members, Veterans, and their Families; and a Postvention Workgroup. Click here to sign up for any of the workgroups. All workgroup materials can be found here.

The Commission's Postvention Workgroup is currently looking to identify existing suicide postvention written resources in the Spanish language in order to share out these resources with the broader Colorado community. This workgroup recently released the Postvention Resource Gathering Form in both English and Spanish in order to solicit Spanish-translated postvention resources. Please share these with partners, organizations, etc. We would love to have a robust list of postvention materials available in Spanish to share with our communities! 


Please reach out the Commission Coordinator, Alise Nichols with any questions.

Training

The next virtual CAMS training will be Thursday, April 20th from 8:30am-4:30pm. Please register here. If you are having trouble accessing the registration form, please email Kaleigh at kaleigh.kessel@state.co.us. If you are interested in attending an in-person CAMS training later in 2023, please complete this form


Save the date! 2023 CAMS training sessions will also be offered on Wednesday, May 17th, Tuesday, June 6th, and Thursday, August 17th! If you are interested in attending a different virtual CAMS training session, please join our interest list.

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!

Funding Opportunities

Overdose Data to Action: Limiting Overdose through Collaborative Actions in Localities (OD2A: LOCAL), to support local city and county health departments and territories to develop overdose-related surveillance infrastructure and implement prevention activities to decrease fatal and non-fatal overdoses and related harms. All local health departments, special district health departments, and territories are eligible to apply. Applications are due May 8, 2023.

RESOURCES - Hot off the Press!
*Disclaimer: The following resources and events do not necessarily reflect the Office of Suicide Prevention’s views or opinions.

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!

Women's History Month

The Office of Suicide Prevention acknowledges that experiences of sexism and gender discrimination can be risk factors for suicide. OSP also acknowledges that celebrating women and femme individuals can increase connectedness and inclusion, which are upstream suicide prevention strategies. Check out the resources below for some background on Women’s History Month, Women’s history in Colorado, and International Women’s Day.


Webpage from the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum


27 minute video: Colorado Experience: Women of the Santa Fe Trail


Webpage on International Women’s Day. This year’s theme was #EmbraceEquity


What We Can All Do About Maternal Suicide

Equity

Hidden Lessons from Black Suicide Science from CAMS. This free one-hour recording features Rheeda Walker who discusses patterns of suicide death, highlights relevant research from the Culture, Risk, and Resilience Lab, and proposes important steps in addressing suicide.


The Suicide Prevention Resource Center is excited to release their 2021 Tribal Suicide Prevention Needs Assessment. This technical report presents complete findings from the first-ever survey of suicide prevention needs, challenges, strengths, infrastructure, and capacity of U.S. tribes and tribal health boards.


What Supporting Black LGBTQ Young People Really Looks Like - blog post from the Trevor Project

Youth and Young Adults

NORC’s newly released adolescent SBIRT curriculum - Asking about substance use and discussing its impact can prevent many harmful effects to the adolescent’s developing brain and potential future. Asking about mental health and identifying risk early can prevent delay of receiving services and supports. 


10 things to know about how social media affects teens' brains


CU Nursing Alumna Shares Alarming Findings on Adolescent Mental Health, Suicide

Older Adults

Social Engagement Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Older Adults: Successful Programs and Activities. In partnership with the Diverse Elders Coalition, this webinar event will focus on social engagement among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) older adults. During the webinar, the Hanul Family Alliance, Ektaa Center’s South Asian Senior Association and the Pacific Islander Community Association of WA will highlight programs and activities their organizations provide to help AAPI older adults stay engaged and connected. All speakers will share cultural considerations for the Aging Network when working with AAPI older adults. March 16, 2023 from 10:00-11:00 am


Housing Supports for Older Adults Experiencing Homelessness. People experiencing homelessness disproportionately experience a high burden of chronic illness, substance use disorders, and mental illness, which hasten the onset of conditions associated with aging. This webinar will present an overview of factors impacting older adults experiencing homelessness and share strategies to support their housing needs. April 19th, 2023 from 12:00 - 1:30 MT

Lethal Means Safety

The VA Keep It Secure program promotes awareness about the simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your family.

Industry-Specific

The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) has released recommendations for preventing suicide in the U.S. military.

Cross-Pollinated Resources

Conducted annually, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides nationally representative data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; substance use disorders; receipt of substance use treatment; mental health issues; and the use of mental health services among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older in the United States.

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Collaborating with Tribal Communities: A Webinar Series, March 21, 2023 (12:00 MT). Webinar 3: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Working with Tribes. Register here.


Applying the SafeSide Framework for Suicide Prevention in Rural Communities: Choose from 3 Available Workshop Dates: March 21, 2023, from 10:00 am - 1:30 pm, May 23, 2023, from 10:00 am - 1:30 pm, July 25, 2023, from 10:00 am - 1:30 pm.


Sleep Disturbance And Suicidality In Adults And Teens - Thursday, March 23, 2023 11:00 AM  1:00 PM


Soul Shop For Leaders - Faith Based Suicide Awareness Training: April 19th from 9-5 in Aurora. Learn more and register here.


3rd Annual Partnerships for Veteran & Military Health Conference (In-Person and Virtual) - April 21-22, 2023. Learn more and register here.


Registration is open for the second annual Suicide Research Symposium, which will take place virtually on April 26 - April 28, 2023. Registration is FREE. Click here for more information.

Save the date! The Yampa Valley Wellness Conference will be held April 27th, 2023. 







Partners for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH) is offering upcoming trainings to help youth-serving professionals create safe spaces for LGBTQ youth. Training dates/times (MT): 

  • Introduction To Providing Gender-Affirming Care to Gender-Diverse Youth: April 18, 4-5pm
  • Introduction To Providing LGBTQ+ Competent Care: May 18, 4-5pm
  • Working with Gender Diverse Youth for Advanced Practitioners: May 22, 4-5pm

PCMH is hosting two five-part courses on utilizing DBT skills with youth. Participants meet weekly for 5 weeks and cover skills around mindfulness, managing emotions, tolerate distress, building relationships, and finding the middle path. Training dates/times (MT): 


Sources of Strength Summer 2023 Train-the-Trainer opportunities: 

  • A Sources of Strength 2-day booster train-the-trainer skills session opportunity: June 8-9, 2023. Register here.
  • Two Sources of Strength 4-day train-the-trainer skills session opportunities: Register here. [June 13-16 (In-person), June 26-29 (Virtual)]


Save the date & call for proposals: Annual Colorado Safe Schools Summit - Thursday and Friday, October 19th and 20th at the Adams 12 Five Star School District Conference Center.  Call for Proposals: If you or someone you know has a school safety workshop that would be appreciated by the participants, please complete the quick form in Word or PDF and submit it to the CSSRC Program Assistant, Melissa Rubeo: Melissa.rubeo@state.co.us


Save the date: Annual Colorado Youth Suicide Prevention Symposium - Thursday, November 16, 2023 at the Lowry Conference Center and Zoom.

Stay in Touch!!
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To improve the health, well-being and equity of all Coloradans through health promotion, prevention and access to health care.