About

Welcome to

Onondaga County Suicide Prevention Coalition

Our MISSION

is to prevent suicide and its devastating consequences in Onondaga County.

Our VISION

is zero suicides in Onondaga County.

Our GOAL

is to link our commuinity with suicide prevention resources, to reduce stigma, to promote help-seeking, and to save lives.

We Can All Prevent Suicide

Core Values

Strategies

Enhancing collaborations to promote a suicide-free community
Conducting needs assessments to identify gaps in suicide prevention services and supports
Disseminating vital information on the signs of suicide and effective help-seeking
Providing resources to those affected by suicide and suicidal behavior
Advancing policies and practices that contribute to the prevention of suicide

Who We Are

Onondaga County Suicide Prevention Coalition (OCSPC) is a
collaboration of stakeholders devoted to creating a suicide safe community. We currently have 40 members including service providers, volunteers and invested community members.

We’re excited about the work we have completed since 2016. Our diverse representation spans county, state, and national levels.

Coalition Members

When do we meet?

OCSPC holds monthly meetings for all interested members of the public on the second Tuesday of each month. Our schedule for the remainder of 2023 is as follows:

Each meeting is accessible through video conferencing via ZOOM. Meetings are open to the public. You can join a ZOOM meeting from your PC, MAC, tablet, Apple or Android device. The ZOOM application must be downloaded to your device before you can join a ZOOM conference. Please email [email protected] for a meeting invite.

Training Opportunities

Everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. OCSPC is committed to providing our community with evidence-based trainings and workshops.

You can learn more about trainings in this section. Please reach out to OCSPC directly for information and assistance in finding a local trainer.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

ASIST is a two-day practice-dominated course to help caregivers learn to recognize and review risk, and to intervene to prevent imminent risk of suicide. Fifteen contact hours are available for Social Workers, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, and Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs).

Creating Suicide Safety in School

Creating Suicide Safety in School is a full day (six hours) workshop is designed to assist school administrators, school-based mental health and health professionals, school safety staff, and school counselors with planning suicide prevention activities. Sometimes board members, teachers, and parents attend; it is ideal to include members of the school community who are vested in assessing current prevention and response readiness and providing recommendations for improvements. Implementation teams come together to spend the day learning about suicide and best practices in prevention. Small and large group discussions facilitate the development of a customized action plan.

Helping Students at Risk for Suicide

The focus of this full day (six hours; administrative overview is two hours) workshop is to incorporate the process of assessing, intervening, safety planning, and following up when there is concern that a student may be at-risk for suicide. This training is suitable for school-based health, mental health, pupil services, school safety professionals, administrators, special education, and pupil services administrators. The goals are two-fold: 1) to improve the competence and confidence of school-based professionals to intervene when suicide risk is identified, and 2) to assist school leaders with developing standardized policies and procedures to support best practices in suicide intervention.

It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health

The AFSP-produced film It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health is designed to raise awareness about mental health issues commonly experienced by students, and is intended to be used as part of a school’s educational program to encourage help-seeking.

It's Real: Teens and Mental Health

Intended for high school classes or community settings with groups of teens, ages from 14 to 18, It’s Real: Teens and Mental Health is a 45-minute program that provides young people with mental health education and resources. The program raises awareness about mental health issues, how to start a conversation about mental health, the importance of self-care, and how to reach out for help.

More Than Sad

More Than Sad has taught over a million students and educators how to be smarter about mental health.

Operation S.A.V.E.

This VA Operation S.A.V.E. training will help you act with care and compassion if you encounter a Veteran who is in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)

QPR is a one-hour training that instructs participants to recognize the signs of a suicidal crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Similar to CPR, an emergency medical intervention, QPR is an emergency mental health intervention.

Suicide Alertness For Everyone-Tell Ask Listen Keepsafe (SafeTALK)

SafeTALKis a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone 15 or older, regardless of prior experience or training, to recognize warning signs, effectively communicate with individuals who are thinking about suicide, and connect them with life-saving intervention resources. Three contact hours are available for Social Workers, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, and Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs).

Suicide Safety for Teachers and School Staff

This 60- to 90-minute training is designed to meet the basic needs of school administration, faculty, and staff. Emphasis is on recognizing warning signs, clarifying the referral process in place at school, and making a warm handoff.

Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention

Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention is a community-based presentation that covers the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide.

In addition to the standard presentation, there are specialized Talk Saves Lives modules are available that provide similar information, while focusing on specific at-risk communities:

Talk Saves Lives – Latinx & Hispanic Communities
Talk Saves Lives – Seniors
Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention in the LGBTQ Community
Talk Saves Lives – Suicide Prevention Education for Workplace Settings
Talk Saves Lives – Firearms and Suicide Prevention
Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention in the Correctional Environment

Request a Trainer or Speaker

Get Involved

OCSPC is deeply rooted in our community. Each project and campaign has incredible thought and intention behind it. Our members work collaboratively to assess the needs of Onondaga County residents and to offer timely and tailored resources to individuals, families and other groups who have been impacted by suicide.

There are many ways to get involved in the work of our Coalition. This may include attending our general meetings, working on one of our committees, taking or providing a training program or donating your time.

Please email [email protected] if you’d like to learn more about participating in the Coalition. A member will contact you to discuss your interests.

Postvention - Curate resources and referrals designed to support those who have lost someone to suicide.

Means Safety - Help us to create and deliver trainings and materials on how to reduce access to lethal means.

Community Outreach - Participate in local community events promoting mental health and suicide prevention.

Chalk the Walk - This annual campaign gets kits with chalk and support resources into the community and promotes dialogue around mental health and suicide prevention.