An Introduction to Zero Suicide Texas (ZEST) and Accessing Care via Crisis Lines Jennifer Battle, LMSW HelpLine Director The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD Services 1

Learning Objectives: Workshop participants will: Understand the national ZERO Suicide Initiative Learn how Texas is leading the country in the ZERO Suicide Initiative Recognize local crisis lines and suicide prevention resources 2

In September 2012 The National Action Alliance along with the US Surgeon General released the revised National Strategy for Suicide Prevention with the goal of emphasizing the role every American can play in preventing suicide. Among the goals of this plan are: we need to foster positive public dialogue, address the needs of vulnerable groups, increase knowledge of warning signs, and how to connect individuals with assistance and care.

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Suicide and Public Mental Health Settings Ohio: Between , 20.2% of people who died from suicide were seen in the public behavioral health system within 2 years of death. New York: In 2012 there were 226 suicide deaths among consumers of public mental health services, accounting for 13% of all suicide deaths in the state. Vermont: In 2013, 20.4% of the people who died from suicide had at least one service from state-funded mental health or substance abuse treatment agencies within 1 year of death. 5

Texas: In 2013 there were 248 suicide deaths among consumers of public mental health services, accounting for 8.1% of all suicides in Texas. 6

What is Zero Suicide in Texas? Zero Suicide is a commitment to suicide prevention in health and behavioral health care systems. It is a leadership-driven, safety-oriented culture that commits to dramatically reducing suicide among people under care. 7

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Goals of Zero Suicide in Texas Goal 1: Reduce suicides among those aged Goal 2: Focus on enhancements to the public mental health system to improve service delivery to those with serious emotional disturbances and persistent mental illness 9

Essentials of Zero Suicide Texas Assessment Pathways to Care Evidence Based Care Follow Up Leads to Suicide Safer Care 22 LMHAs participating as of 2016 Started with

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Zero Suicide Texas: Suicide Safe Care Sites Best practices model including prevention, assessment, treatment, and postvention guidelines. Goal of having agencies statewide adhere to this model. 12

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National Hotline Services No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/ TALK The Lifeline is a network of 164 crisis centers in 49 states. 19

Texas Crisis Line Options All LMHAs in the State of Texas are required to provide a 24 hour crisis line for their service area. To find the number to the LMHA crisis line closest to you, log onto DSHS website, under Reference Center on the left click on Mental Health Service Search, and then scroll to the bottom, click on the link and you can search by city, county, or zip code. MHMRA HelpLine answers the crisis line for 39 Texas Counties totaling approximately 1/3 of the state population.

Hotline/Online Resources MHMRA HelpLine ( National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ( TALK (8255) Crisis Hotline – 713-HOTLINE ( ) ( Trevor Line – (

For more information, questions, or comments, please feel free to contact me: Jennifer Battle, LMSW HelpLine Director MHMRA of Harris County 7011 SW Freeway Houston, TX (HelpLine)