Rapid City Suicide Prevention Taskforce

1. Rapid City Suicide Prevention Taskforce Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon, Executive Director, Front Porch Coalition

2. Working Taskforce Members • Lee Sasse,Ellsworth Air Force Base Mental Health Clinic • LTC Bryan Jacobson, SD National Guard • Michael Strang, SD National Guard • Patrick Powers, Youth and Family Services Counseling Center • Patti Martinson, Front Porch Coalition Board President & Black Hills Center for Equality Board President • Renee and Nina Mesteth, Parent and Youth • Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon, Front Porch Coalition Director • Tamira McMeekin, Unified Judicial System • Tim McGowan, Central High School • Alan Solano, Behavior Management Systems • Alys Ratigan, Black Hills Mental Health and Substance Abuse Systems Change Coordinator • Beverly Cole, SD EMT • Cathy Larsen, Catholic Social Services • Felicia Blind Man, Nurse • Dr. John Lassegard, Community Health Center of the Black Hills • Jolie McCoy, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology • Kaycee Tonderum, Youth • Kyle Hunter, Youth • Leah Braun, SD National Guard

3. Mission Statement Build a sustainable network of community stakeholders that work to improve mental health and wellness systems that support suicide prevention activities through health promotion and risk reduction while making available services for face-to-face counseling.

4. VISION Reduce Risk Factors; Increase Protective Factors; Create Support Systems, Relationships, Connection to Other People

5. Education, Training, and Awareness • Three Things Most Important: • Improve Screening – Early Detection of Suicide Risk Factors – Are We Catching Those At-risk Early Enough • Early Intervention – Have Crisis Options Available – Are Parents Getting Kids to Mental Health Services – If not, then Why • Follow-up – How Do We Keep Them In Services

6. Year 1 Activites • Assessed the community’s capacity for mental health services and suicide prevention trainings • Conducted 13 suicide intervention trainings– 254 Adults, Mental Health Professionals, First Responders, etc. • Conducted 2 school-based trainings in 2 Rapid City High Schools – 87 Teens • Worked to assess and build upon the community’s mental health referral network.

7. Suicide in Pennington County 2000 - 2010 Source: Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and Front Porch Coalition L.O.S.S. Team Program, 2010

8. Year 2 Activities • 40 suicide intervention trainings -779 Adults, Mental Health Professionals, First Responders, etc. • 3 youth oriented community and/or school-based trainings - 71 Teens • 3 T4T trainings – train-the-trainer trainings for school-based suicide prevention programs and gatekeeper and suicide intervention trainings • Contacted 11 Medical Clinics with 1 implementing the Primary Care Toolkit for Suicide Prevention – Community Health Center of the Black Hills • Suicide hotline materials to 60 bars, casinos and liquor stores; 90 churches and provided packets of suicide prevention materials to 55 churches • Continued to build the mental health referral network

9. Certified Trainers • Alys Ratigan, ASIST, QPR • Burke Eilers, Youth and Family Services Counseling Center – QPR • Patrick Powers, Youth and Family Services Counseling Center – ASIST • Peggy Schlechter, NAU – QPR • Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon, Front Porch Coalition – Sudden and Traumatic LOSS, ASIST, QPR, QPR Suicide Triage Training • Tim McGowan, Central High School – Sources of Strength Peer Mentoring • Vicki Buehler, Front Porch Coalition - ASIST

10. Suicide in Pennington County 2000 - 2011 Source: Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and Front Porch Coalition L.O.S.S. Team Program, 2011 Suicides Decreased as Prevention Efforts Increased

11. Year 3 Activities • 6 suicide intervention trainings – 256 Adults, Mental Health Professionals, First Responders, etc. • 6 youth oriented school-based trainings – 615 Teens • Implemented School Curriculum – Wall High School • Planning Implementation of School Curriculum – Douglas High School • Implemented 2 Primary Care Toolkits for Suicide Prevention – RCRH ED & RCRH Family Medicine Residency Clinic • Complete community assessment tool that can be used as a yearly evaluation tool • Prepare for sustainability and collaboration

12. Future Goals • Reach primary care providers with education, training, and awareness focusing on incorporating more mental health and suicide screenings into medical practices. • Focus on yearly public awareness events. • Use the community assessment tool to create and update yearly action plans. • Work with mental health providers to improve the referral network. • Obstacle & Goal: Sustain training programs in the schools and the general public. General public trainings – may have to charge attendees.

13. Future Collaborations • Front Porch Coalition & LOSS Team to unify with Northern Hills Suicide Prevention Taskforce – expand service area • Black Hills Mental Health Substance Abuse Systems Change Collaborative • “Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention Day” Annual Awareness Event – FPC, BMS, CSS, LSS, Wellspring, YFS • Continue Law Enforcement/First Responders Partnerships • Build and Sustain Trainer Network

14. For More Information Front Porch Coalition Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon Community Services Director 915 Mountain View Road Rapid City, SD 57702 (605) 348-6692 www.frontporchcoalition.org frontporch@frontporchcoalition.org