Our Vision is for a community where no lives are lost to suicide. Our mission is to use data, science, and collaborations to identify and implement effective suicide prevention strategies for Tompkins County.
The Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition (the Coalition) is comprised of health agencies, community organizations, and individual members who share a determination to prevent suicide deaths in our community. It is a collective of volunteers that strives for diverse and inclusive representation and encourages collaboration for achieving goals. The Coalition draws inspiration and purpose from The Watershed Declaration of 2017, a call to action by Tompkins County mental health leaders to renew our community’s commitment to suicide prevention.
We believe that the persistent rise in the U.S. suicide rate over the past two decades demands a public health response from communities across the nation. Since 2016, Tompkins County has averaged 12 suicide deaths per year; another 1,600 parents, children, siblings, friends, and spouses may have been negatively impacted by resulting psychological, spiritual, and/or financial loss. Another 300 people in our community may attempt suicide every year. Suicide continues to be the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10-34; approximately half of the county’s population is under 30.
In 2021, the Coalition began considering further concrete steps to prevent suicide deaths in Tompkins County and join the movement to reverse the upward national suicide trend. This Strategic Plan outlines the Coalition’s three work groups goals and objectives with which they seeks to achieve them. The Coalition is committed to measuring the results and reporting back to our community.
Our vision is for a community where no lives are lost to suicide. Our mission is to use data, science, and collaborations to identify and implement effective suicide prevention strategies for Tompkins County.
Our strengths are broad representation; existing knowledge and experience; support from county and city political leaders; and partnership with the Suicide Prevention Center of New York .
Our weaknesses are limited human resources and training; current lack of funding; weak connections with rural communities; and limited public health communication.
Our opportunities are leveraging interest in and support for mental health and suicide prevention; and outreach to and collaboration with at-risk populations.
Our threats are persistent generalized stigma around mental health and suicide; addiction and other exacerbating factors; and insufficient diversity and inclusion within the Coalition ’s membership.
Conduct and facilitate education and outreach efforts to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and provide suicide prevention resources.
Build and carry out a clear outreach plan focused on engaging key stakeholders across the county-schools, businesses, service providers, and community groups.
Gather community insight by designing and conducting a survey to understand needs, gaps, and opportunities for suicide prevention and support.
Create ongoing community connectedness opportunities, mental health trainings, and events to strengthen community relationships and reduce isolation.
This goal is strong and clearly aligned with best practices in suicide prevention. It emphasizes three key impact areas—education, stigma reduction, and resource dissemination—which together support early intervention, spreading awareness and community-level change.
Advance safer suicide care in Tompkins County healthcare and behavioral health settings through implementation of the Zero Suicide Framework and/or other evidence-based models of care.
Put into action the guidance and recommendations developed by the Healthcare Steering Committee based on the Zero Suicide Framework to advance safer suicide care across Tompkins County.
Develop, establish, and clearly communicate countywide guidelines for the standard of care in addressing suicidality. Distribute these guidelines to organizations, healthcare providers, and the general public to ensure consistency and clarity.
Conduct regular check-ins with participating organizations to review progress, troubleshoot challenges, and provide guidance as they develop and implement suicide-related policies and procedures.
Participate in-or, if needed, initiate-a local anti-stigma campaign focused on reducing mental health and suicide-related stigma across professional and personal settings.
Encourage collaboration among healthcare systems, community providers, and partner organizations to address service gaps, barriers, and resource limitations, with specific support for smaller organizations or those offering limited behavioral health services.
This goal is well-defined and strongly aligned with current national best practices in suicide prevention. By focusing on implementation of the Zero Suicide Framework and other evidence-based models, it emphasizes systems-level change rather than isolated interventions, which is a key factor in improving patient safety and outcomes. Its strength lies in its clarity of purpose and its focus on healthcare and behavioral health settings, where structured protocols can significantly reduce risk.
Advocate for policies and practices that prevent suicides in both rural and urban communities of Tompkins County.
Request and obtain public support, funding, and grant assistance from the Tompkins County Legislature, municipal governments, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit partners to advance the Coalition’s goals and objectives.
Facilitate and uplift evidence-based strategies that deliver suicide-related public health information to the community, including targeted outreach to high-risk and traditionally underserved populations.
Advocate for New York State legislation that ensures full and sustained funding for crisis response services, including the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
This goal is clear, relevant, and appropriately focused on upstream prevention through policy and systems change. By addressing both rural and urban communities, it demonstrates an understanding of the different barriers to care and resource access that can influence suicide risk across Tompkins County.
