Why suicide prevention in schools matters
Most school districts aren’t prepared to: 1) prevent; 2) intervene; or 3) properly support students who are contemplating death by suicide and/or the school community after the death of a student. At best, there may be intervention policies, but what about support post attempt? How does one communicate to a student body after the death of a peer?
What the Hope Policy Academy is
The Hope Policy Academy seeks to fill this gap by providing information on best-practices to improve existing suicide prevention policies and practices.
The evidence-based information from both online materials and in-person events is geared towards professionals in education including administrators, teachers, school nurses, social workers, school board members, and other personnel.
How the Hope Policy Academy began
The Hope Policy Academy came from the joint efforts of:
- Ryan R. Lindsay, MSW, LCSW, Associate Professor of Practice at the Brown School
- Dr. Saras Chung, Executive Director, SkipNV
- Erika Gonzalez, MSW, Manager of Urban Education Initiatives, Brown School
With the support of a generous host of sponsors, the Hope Policy Academy began as a one-day conference in June 2019 and expanded to include an online presence, as well as other in-person events and trainings on the topic of suicide prevention policies in schools.