Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation
The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) is housed in the College of Social Work at OSU. OSPF was launched in 2005 for the purpose of building and supporting a statewide infrastructure of community programming that promotes suicide prevention, works to eliminate stigma, and encourages early intervention for Ohioans that are suffering from suicidal thoughts, mental illness, and alcohol and drug addiction.
The Foundation has two signature program areas, plus curriculum development:
- County Suicide Prevention Coalitions focus on awareness, intervention and methodology strategies to decrease suicide risk and increase help seeking behavior. Currently there are 69 Coalitions covering 73 of Ohio's 88 counties.
- Ohio Mental Health Check-Ups for Youth Project provides volunteer mental health screening to young people when parental consent is given. Currently there are 117 Youth Check-Up sites in Ohio.
- A Safety and Violence Prevention Curriculum developed for the Ohio Department of Education assists educators and other school professionals in identifying mental health, safety, violence, and alcohol and drug issues in schools. (Project #60015119)
In addition to programming the Foundation provides gatekeeper training specifically designed to educate the public on the warning signs of suicide and steps to decrease suicide risk. For example, OSPF offers an adult and youth Speakers Bureau. Speakers have a passion for suicide prevention and bullying prevention and utilize their own stories to educate others on how to help someone in a similar situation. The Foundation also serves as an information resource repository to ensure that data and facts regarding suicidology are consistent statewide. The Foundation does not provide mental health services directly but, rather, is a resource for professionals and agencies that do.
OSPF Brochure
