Region 5

Suicide Advisory Board

The R5SAB integrates and coordinates suicide prevention, intervention, and response activities across multiple sectors and settings in all 43 communities in Region 5.

We support the overall vision of the Statewide CTSAB and provide local and regional infrastructure of suicide prevention and postvention response activities.

This R5SAB is made up of local prevention council representatives, clinicians, people with lived experience including survivors of suicide attempts and family members, prevention professionals, school social workers and psychologists, healthcare, crisis intervention specialists and law enforcement.

We provide updates from our networks of care and report on:

emerging trends around suicide
availability of new resources and funding opportunities
identification of at-risk populations
training gaps
programs offered throughout the state of CT and nationally

The R5SAB supports the WCTC staff and encourages people in our service area to attend QPR trainings that are conducted monthly by our staff. The R5SAB membership influence the workplan of the CT Suicide Advisory Board. They share information from the CTSAB back to their own organizations.

Anyone interested in joining the Region 5 Suicide Advisory Board can sign up here.

R5SAB Meeting Minutes

2022

2021

Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board (CTSAB)

Mission: The CTSAB is a network of diverse advocates, educators and leaders concerned with addressing the problem of suicide with a focus on prevention, intervention, and health and wellness promotion.

Vision: The CTSAB seeks to eliminate suicide by instilling hope across the lifespan.

Membership: The CTSAB is a diverse, collaborative network of over 600 people and 200 agencies representing state and local agencies, profit and non-profits, community and faith-based organizations, hospitals, military, schools, higher education, towns, private citizens, students, survivors, individuals with lived experience, and advocates.

The Connecticut State Suicide Prevention Plan 2025 (PLAN 2025) is a living, working document, designed to frame, organize, prioritize, and direct established and emerging suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention response efforts throughout the state through 2025. PLAN 2025 was developed through the ongoing efforts of an expanding group of professionals, those with lived experience of suicide loss, and those with lived experience of suicide attempts.

Learn more at preventsuicidect.org

Tools & Resources

Question, Persuade, Refer
Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training

QPR - Question, Persuade, Refer is an evidence-based suicide prevention program that teaches three steps anyone can take to save a life:

Recognize Signs
Offer Help
Connect to Resources

A Unique Suicide Risk Assessment Tool

The Columbia Protocol, also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), supports suicide risk assessment through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask. The answers help users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, assess the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs.

The first step is to ask. We used research and real-world experience to determine the right questions to ask to identify people of all ages at risk for suicide. The C-SSRS is designed for use around the world for research, communities and healthcare, and families, friends, and neighbors.

Watch the 60 min C-SSRS training video here.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

There is “no wrong door” in CT.

To reach the CT crisis contact center for telephonic support or mobile crisis services, people can call 211 and press 1 for crisis and then 1 for children or 2 for adults, or they can call 988 to be routed to the CT contact center.

They will not have to press any other numbers when they call 988 to get services, and call, text and chat services are all functioning.

Veterans are still guided to press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line when they call 988, just as the 800 NSPL line did.

Learn more about 988 here.

Community-Led Suicide Prevention helps communities come together to create and reach their suicide prevention goals. This web toolkit provides step-by-step information and how-to tools for comprehensive suicide prevention.

Suicide Postvention

A loss by suicide is like no other, and grieving can be especially difficult, especially after traumatic loss. Whether you are looking for help with your own grief, looking for ways to help others, or developing a plan to provide postvention response grief support for a particular setting or community, there are resources available.

Our vision is that all 43 communities in the Western Region will establish a Suicide Postvention Information Network, or SPIN. Learn more about suicide postvention here.

This Suicide Prevention Resource List is a template that communities can use to create a list of resources for those experiencing suicide loss.