Suicide and suicide prevention, especially among high priority populations such as teenagers, young adults/college students and veterans, will be the focus of the first-ever Saving Lives: The Suicide Prevention Summit, hosted by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) on Wednesday, September 7 at The California Endowment (1000 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The summit is being held during National Suicide Prevention Week.
“Suicide is one of the most tragic – and preventable – consequences of severe emotional distress and mental illness,” stated LACDMH Medical Director, Roderick Shaner, M.D. “The Suicide Prevention Summit presents a remarkable opportunity to review and speed up the large-scale application of advances in suicide prevention to our community mental health system.”
Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered right to your inbox
Funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA, Proposition 63), the Suicide Prevention Summit will bring together well-known experts from mental health, hospitals, education, police and fire as well as advocates, providers, researchers and survivors to collaborate and chart a comprehensive strategy for suicide prevention over the next ten years.
LACDMH is part of the countywide, multi-agency Partners in Suicide Prevention (PSP) Network that includes the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles Unified School District and Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center among others. The mission of the PSP Network is to promote public and professional awareness, education, training and engagement regarding suicide and suicide prevention, intervention and post-vention in Los Angeles County.