FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007

CONTACT

Lori Maldonado
        Public Information Specialist
        303-692-2028

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Office of Suicide Prevention Awarded $1.2 Million to Address Youth Suicide Prevention in Colorado

DENVER--The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, recently awarded funding to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Office of Suicide Prevention for a three-year project called Project Safety Net. The comprehensive suicide prevention project will build a ‘safety net,’ whereby a network of individuals who work in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems are trained to identify and work with adolescents and young adults who are at heightened risk for suicidal behavior.

Jarrod Hindman, director of the Office of Suicide Prevention, which will be overseeing the project, said the safety net will consist of adults and young adult gatekeepers who are able to recognize and respond to warning signs of suicide. 

El Paso, Larimer, Mesa, Pueblo and Weld Counties, along with the University of Colorado at Boulder, will participate in Project Safety Net, which began on Oct. 1, 2006, and will continue through Sep. 30, 2009.

Adults working with adolescents ages 15 to 18 in the juvenile justice and family welfare systems, and the adolescents’ parents or caregivers, are the target population of the community initiative.

Faculty, staff, resident hall student leaders, Greek system representatives and athletic department representatives who work with University of Colorado at Boulder students ages 18 to 22 are the target population of the University of Colorado at Boulder initiative.

Hindman explained that both initiatives will work closely with a local advisory board and with a subcommittee of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado to create and disseminate cross-system referral protocols for suicide prevention.

The two initiatives also will

• train adults who work and live with high-risk adolescents in the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training and the Question, Persuade, Refer training;

• work with a marketing specialist to create public awareness campaigns for community and campuswide distribution.

Hindman said, “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Coloradans ages 10 to 34.  In a state where more Coloradans die annually by suicide than in motor vehicle crashes and where young people in the juvenile justice and family welfare systems are at an elevated risk for suicide, this grant is incredibly timely and crucial for the people of Colorado.”

The grant will provide $400,000 per year for the three-year project. 

For more information, please contact the Office of Suicide Prevention at 303-692-2539.

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