The Committee has completed a rough draft which includes:
suicide prevention and mentally ill
youth
elderly
minorities
reducing the stigma
education and awareness
law enforcement
clergy
access to healthcare
family violence
military
special populations
crisis lines
media coverage
schools
educating physicians
rural health care
data gathering and surveillance systems
Peter Gutierrez, founding coalition member and professor at Northern Illinois University, accepts a farewell gift from Carol Wozniewski, chair of the ISPC, as he moves out of state to Colorado. Dr. Gutierrez will continue to consult with the Illinois Coalition for special projects. We will miss you, Peter!
Illinois Suicide Prevention Accomplishments
Conference committee and major speakers:
(Standing L to R) Jennifer Martin, IDPH; Paul Quinnett, QPR author and speaker; Jerry Weyrauch, SPAN founder; Stan Lewy; Stephanie Weber.
(Seated L to R) Shirene Thomas; Elsie Weyrauch, SPAN founder; Dr. Mohit Bansal.
Accomplishments of the
Suicide Prevention Strategic Planning Committee
December 2002-April 2006
Dec. 2002
First Coalition Meeting Convened
Dec. 2002--2004
Completed Draft of Strategic Plan
Reached a consensus of the ‘Top 10’suicide prevention needs in Illinois
2003
Completed survey of stakeholders to
determine suicide prevention needs of the
entire state
2004
First Statewide Conference on Suicide Prevention, three days in Springfield
Trained 39 QPR trainers
Coalition worked with key legislators to create and pass
The Suicide Prevention, Education and Treatment Act,
signed into law by Governor Blagojevich, Public Act 093-0907
2005
Convened the Governor’s Appointed Committee on Suicide Prevention to approve the final draft of the ‘Plan” and to monitor its implementation
Revised infrastructure of the coalition (vision, mission, by-laws) in order to improve the organization and continuity
Completed detailed work plan with goals, objectives, activities, deadlines and identified partners for each workgroup on the coalition in order to implement the “10 Recommendations” in Illinois for suicide prevention
2005-06: Implemented the target purposes of the funding in Public Act 093-0907
Convened 17 major suicide prevention workshops for clinicians and citizens distributed in selected areas of Illinois, addressing various populations and needs in suicide prevention
Initiated and completed plans for a major stigma reducing and suicide prevention media campaign
Developed and distributed suicide prevention materials on all concerns regarding suicide prevention
Trained and monitored a core group of training consultants in suicide prevention to assist all communities in enhancing suicide prevention efforts (TAG, Training Assistance Group)
We need:
Ideas for persons and agencies to poll for the survey and review the plan
Ideas for legislators who will be interested in supporting suicide prevention legislation
Other persons who are interested in reviewing the plan
Funding bodies that might be interested in designing and printing the plan itself
Contact:
Carol Wozniewski,
Chairperson, Illinois Suicide Prevention Coalition
(L to R): Judy Ashby, LifeSavers; George Rogers, Retired, Department of Health and Human Services, Region V; Pat Reedy, Department of Human Services, National Association of Social Workers; Tony Graff, City Manager, Yorkville, IL, Law Enforcement; Shirene Thomas, Illinois Department of Public Health
(L to R): Carolyn Boughton, Marsha Gordon, and Annie Wallace, Illinois Department of Human Services
Sherry Bryant, center, behind sign, participates in the Hike to the Hill at the Suicide Prevention annual conference in Washington, D.C. sponsored by Suicide Prevention Action Network
Coalition Steering Committee Members met in Pittsburgh in June 2005 at a SAMHSA Regional Conference to work on the organizational structure, vision, and mission of the suicide prevention coalition. Standing (L to R): Stan Lewy, Suicide Prevention Action Network Executive Director; Jerry Reid; Sharon Stone, wife of Senator Gordon Smith, responsible for Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Legislation; Sherry Bryant; Peter Gutierrez; Judy Ashby; Ahruna Jha. Seated (L to R): Carol Wozniewski, Joe Kerouac, Pat Reedy.
