Suicide Prevention Action Network USA
Encyclopedia
The Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA) is a 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in 1996 by Gerald and Elsie Weyrauch, whose 34-year-old daughter, Terri, died by suicide. SPAN USA is "dedicated to preventing suicide through public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

 and awareness, community action and federal, state and local grassroots advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

."

SPAN's theme
Principle
A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...

 is "Opening Minds. Changing Policy. Saving Lives."

The Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA) is the nation's only suicide prevention
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....

 organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...

 dedicated to leveraging grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...

 support among suicide survivors (those who have lost a loved one to suicide) and others to advance public policies that help prevent suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

. The organization was created to raise awareness, build political will, and call for action with regard to creating, advancing, implementing and evaluating a national strategy to address suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in the United States. Since the organization was founded, grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...

 volunteers and staff have worked in communities, state capitols and in Washington, DC to advance its public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

 response to the problem of suicide in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Vision

The Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA) envisions a world where suicide prevention
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....

 is embraced as a public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...

 priority
Priority
Priority may refer to:* Priority date, a concept of establishing waiting times in the immigration process by United States Department of State* Priority level, the priority of emergency communications...

 by all members of society, where people touched by suicide are supported, and where communities link awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...

 with action in order to save lives.

Mission

SPAN USA is dedicated to preventing suicide through public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

 and awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...

, community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 engagement
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...

, and federal, state and local grassroots advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

. By empowering those who have been touched by suicide, SPAN USA seeks to advance the implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

Values

SPAN USA believes in:

Opening minds through Social Justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

 and Respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...

;

Changing Policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...

 through Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...

 and Action;

and Saving Lives through Community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 Responsibility
Social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the...


Staff

Brian Altman, JD, Director of Public Policy & Program Development

Jerussia Smith, Administrative Assistant/Bookeeper

2009 SPAN USA Public Policy Priorities

SPAN USA's 2009 Federal Public Policy Priorities:
  • Funding for the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act programs
  • Reauthorization of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • Veterans and Military Suicide Prevention
  • Additional funding for the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS
  • Support Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Research Projects at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

2009 State Public Policy Priorities:
  • Establish and authorize funding for a statewide office of suicide prevention that includes at least one full-time position and directs its efforts across the life span.
  • Adoption by state mental health licensing boards of suicide prevention continuing education requirements.
  • Adoption of state laws that require educational personnel to receive suicide prevention training.

Read more about SPAN USA's public policy initiatives

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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