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Executive Director's Note
Dear Project Safety Net Partners,
I hope you had wonderful summer break by taking the opportunity to practice self-care and replenish yourself. This summer my family visited Southern California spending quality time with relatives and visiting "the happiest place on earth."
This summer, the Project Safety Net (PSN) team focused on planning for the upcoming school year and coordinated the recent release of the Epi-Aid preliminary findings. The PSN Community Survey data was submitted to CDC/SAMSHA to include in the Epi-Aid final report and our workgroup started reviewing the survey data. Working with PSN Leadership and community workgroups, I am in the midst of synthesizing PSN’s strategic plan (aka road map), defining our collaborative charter, and developing a business plan while integrating the Collective Impact model. As with any community-based organization, these are cornerstone components to the development and sustainability of Project Safety Net. Throughout the remainder of the year, I will share progress and engage the collaborative as we move towards PSN 2.0.
At July's collaborative meeting, we heard from Dr. Pamela Stoddard from the Santa Clara Public Health Department (SCCPHD) who presented highlights of the Epi-Aid Preliminary Findings, including fielding questions and comments from the audience to share with CDC/SAMHSA. If you have ask questions, recommendations for the final Epi-Aid report, or input on possible future studies, please send them to PSNPaloAlto@gmail.com. We anticipate the release of the final Epi-Aid report at the end of 2016.
Also at the July meeting, PSN summer intern Erik Chazin shared PSN’s plans for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September. The International Association for Suicide Prevention identified this year’s theme as “Connect, Communicate, Care.” To re-enforce this theme, PSN will coordinate activities throughout September that will raise awareness and engage community members. During the week of September 5th (National Suicide Prevention Awareness week), PSN will host a 2-Day Youth Mental Health First Aid course, two QPR courses and participate in the Palo Alto Community Health Fair (which falls on International Suicide Prevention Awareness Day, September 10th). The trainings will offer skill-building activities to support those we CARE. For the 1st time, we will formally organize a PSN team at the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk Silicon Valley on Saturday, September 17th and a PSN team at the Out of the Darkness South Bay Walk on October 23rd in San Jose. Walking together will be a great opportunity for us to CONNECT as a community to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. At our September Collaborative Meeting, youth and organization partners will COMMUNICATE their efforts with suicide prevention. If you have questions or are interested in volunteering for these efforts, please contact us at PSNPaloAlto@gmail.com. I would like to say thank you to Erik for all his hard work and wish him well in his senior year at the University of Redlands.
As part of my PSN Director's Report, I present a "Collective Impact Building Block" to highlight how the model is translated into PSN's practice. At this meeting, I shared an infographic on the: "Big Tent Stakeholder Wheel" to convey that membership, structure, role distinction, and efforts are important to serving Palo Alto Youths.
I look forward to seeing of all you at our next PSN meeting on Wednesday, August 24th, 4-6pm at the Rinconada Library where we will hear from our Partner-in-Action presenter, Acknowledge Alliance, and Youth-in-Action presenters, local Palo Alto Girl Scouts, who will share their youth well-being software application. You will also hear highlights from the 2016 Adolescent Mental Wellness Conference.
I end this note with a quote from Marsha Sinetar: "Change can either challenge or threaten us. Your beliefs pave your way to success or block you." The past seven years, PSN has gone through organizational transitions and cultural change; however, remaining steadfast to the belief of listening to the youths first will ensure PSN’s success to promote youth well-being and prevent youth suicides.
Thank for being part of PSN!
Kindest regards
Mary Gloner, Executive Director, Project Safety Net
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