Vermont Suicide Prevention Center, and The Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH) is working in partnership with the Center for Health and Learning (CHL) to continue the development of the Vermont Suicide Prevention Center (VT-SPC), a state-wide resource fostering a sustainable approach to suicide prevention in Vermont. The existing body of advisors and stakeholders for the VT-SPC is the Vermont Suicide Prevention Coalition (VSPC). This coalition represents a broad array of constituents, including state and private agencies, institutions of higher education, a variety of professions, and survivors of suicide.
Mission: To create health promoting communities in which schools, Institutions of Higher Education, public and private agencies and people of all ages have the knowledge, attitudes, skills and resources to reduce the risk for suicide.
Purpose: To support state-wide suicide prevention efforts and help local communities implement the recommendations of the Vermont Suicide Prevention Platform using data-driven evidence-based practices.
Suicide Prevention Goals: At present, the VT-SPC has been working on the following suicide prevention goals:
1) Continue to build sustainable infrastructure in Vermont for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention and substance abuse prevention through collaboration across a broad spectrum of individuals, agencies, institutions, and groups that have not previously been involved, to ensure that suicide prevention efforts in Vermont are comprehensive and sustainable.
2) Increase public awareness of youth suicide as a public health problem. Messages to be disseminated include that suicide is preventable; that suicide can be linked to issues of mental health and substance abuse; that there are effective evidence-based interventions and effective treatment strategies.
3) Promote and support the implementation of effective evidence-based suicide prevention and early intervention programs and strategies in schools, communities and Vermont institutions of higher education in order to prevent suicide among Vermont youth and adults.
