Berkshire County Coalition for Suicide Prevention meeting a huge success!

Greetings

The first ever Berkshire County Coalition for Suicide Prevention on November 17th, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza hotel was a huge success! Over 80 people showed up to support the cause of suicide prevention from all segments of the population. The diversity was amazing - professionals, citizens, elderly and youth and everthing in between.

The agenda for the first meeting was packed, but we managed to get throught it. Coalition members were greeted with an introduction speech by Massachusetts Coalitonf or Suicide Prevention Co-chair Kimberly Gleason who explained the state's support for our local coalition. The members then completed two surveys to get an idea of our community priorities - one on a broad scale covering all age groups, and one directed at youth suicide prevention. Afterward, all members got a chance to speak during an "open-mic" like session. I passed around the microphone as people asked questions, gave their thoughts, and shared ideas. It was a great process that connected everyone together toward a unified cause and facilitated the networking session at the end of the meeting. Many people made new contacts.

Before the next meeting scheduled for sometime in early January, I will tally the survey results and share them with the group. I will also plan to have a speaker talk about his or agency's services related to suicide prevention. We will then be on our way to creating coalition goals for the coming year. For those of you reading this who attended, I hope to see you back again, for you other, please contact me so I can add you to the list.

Also, more from the Youth Suicide Prevention Project later as we finish up some programmic goals later this week.

And as always, feel free to post your comments and to contact me - Jon Phillips - for more information at jphillips@berkshireahec.org or 413-447-2417. Thank you!