The Collaborative is a county partner of the Colorado-National Collaborative (CNC). The CNC is a partnership between local, state and national scientists and public health professionals, health and social service agencies, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, businesses, academic organizations, and Colorado residents.
The Collaborative uses the Collective Impact to focus on reducing suicides in El Paso County by 20% by 2024. Collective Impact is the commitment of a group of organizations from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific complex problem such as suicide prevention. The Collaborative focuses on collective goals, strategic partnerships, collective and independent action aligned with those goals, shared accountability and a backbone organization to coordinate the efforts. Community Health Partnership (CHP) is the backbone organization.
The Steering Committee of The Collaborative include chairs of the different work groups and a cross section of leaders from different organizations.
You can view the Suicide Prevention Collaborative’s Year 3 Action Plan here: CDPHE Year 3 Action Plan
The Collaborative Steering Committee
Emily Brady, LCSW
Pronouns: She/Her
NAMI Colorado Springs
Joanne Dreher
Pronouns: She/Her
Silver Key Senior Services
Lauren Eckhart PsyD, MA
Pronouns: She/Her
Children’s Hospital Colorado
David Galvan
Pronouns: He/Him
Mental Health Trainer: YMFHA ACES tMHFA QPR SOUL SHOP
President, Suicide Prevention Partnership Board
Co-Chair, Connec Work Group
Eric Gibbs
Pronouns: He/Him
Peak View Behavioral Health
Ollie Glessner
Pronouns: They/Them or She/Her
Inside Out Youth Services
Bob McLaughlin
Pronouns: He/Him
Mt Carmel Veterans Service Center
Brittany Riffle, MSW
Pronouns: She/Her
Youth Resilience and Suicide Prevention Planner
El Paso County Public Health
Ann Rush, PhD
Pronouns: She/Her
Status Code 4 Inc.
Co-Chair, Data and Impact Measurement Work Group
Lauren Slye, MBA, LPC
Pronouns: She/Her
Diversus Health
Thomas Thompson
Pronouns: He/Him
Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, City of Colorado Springs
Cass Walton
Pronouns: She/Her
Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership
Equity and Suicide Prevention
“Centering equity is crucial to addressing disparities and reducing suicidal despair, attempts, and fatalities. The Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention recognizes that different people and communities experience these things differently and therefore have different needs. In the effort of pursuing equity, the OSP has identified priority populations within suicide prevention efforts that can be more vulnerable to experiences with suicide:
- Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color
- Veterans
- Older Adults
- People with Disabilities
- LBTQIA2+ populations
To learn more about these priority populations and the importance of equity and suicide prevention here: Equity and Suicide Prevention.
To learn more information or how to join the Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County, you can contact Nicole Johnston (she/her), Project Manager of the Collaborative, at Nicole.Johnston@changeline.org.