Developed an online toolkit to prevent suicide and trauma during catastrophic events

In partnership with the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), we developed a new online toolkit that shares strategies for preventing suicide and trauma during catastrophic events including the COVID-19 pandemic, adverse weather events, or other disasters. The toolkit includes online learning modules, suicide prevention planning interviews with agency leaders, and a new social media video about Building Healing Communities. We also led peer learning forums on trauma-informed systems and prioritizing equity and community wellbeing in the wake of catastrophic events in partnership with the National League of Cities and Dr. Howard Pinderhughes at UCSF. Finally, we worked with CLASP and RTI International to update the CDC’s Technical Package for Suicide Prevention for use during periods of infrastructure disruption. Together, these efforts demonstrated the importance of broadening the audience that is ready to take a role in preventing suicide and trauma, and the growing demand for culturally relevant approaches to prevent suicide. This work is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under Cooperative Agreement No. 6 NU38OT000305-02-03. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services, or the CDC. Photo by Broomfield Youth for Youth.