Delivering Sources of Strength

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) through its Suicide Prevention Center of New York (OMH SPCNY) is pleased to announce the availability of funds dedicated to the implementation of Sources of Strength, a suicide prevention program, in New York State high schools (grade 9-12). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescent children, and the suicide rate for youth (ages 10-24) has increased 47% and 44% in the United States and New York State, respectively, over the last two decades. The mission of OMH SPCNY is to promote, coordinate, and strategically advance suicide prevention with the aim of reducing suicide attempts and deaths among New Yorkers. That mission is advanced in part through supporting increased use of evidence-based programs, such as Sources of Strength. Sources of Strength is a nationally recognized upstream suicide prevention program that has been supported by OMH since 2010 and occupies an important place in the state¿s broader effort to support resiliency and prevent suicide among youth. Sources of Strength is a universal school-based suicide prevention program designed to build protective influences across a defined adolescent population and reduce the likelihood that vulnerable youth die by suicide. The program trains students as peer leaders and connects them with mentoring adult advisors at school and in the community. Advisors support the peer leaders in conducting well-defined messaging activities that aim to change peer group norms influencing coping practices and problem solving. The program is strength-based and promotes critical protective factors that are linked to overall psychological wellness and reduced suicide risk. Sources of Strength trains diverse secondary school students (peer leaders) to conduct prevention activities through direct personal contacts and presentations/media designed to promote healthy coping norms and youth-adult connectedness, including help seeking for distress and suicide concerns (i.e. protective factors linked to reduce risk of suicide). Program components include (1) orienting school leadership with an overview of the Sources of Strength program, including keys to successful implementation, (2) developing clear protocols to ensure safety of students identified as suicidal, which includes referrals for mental health evaluations, (3) increasing school staff members¿ preparation through training, which includes knowledge of their role in the Sources of Strength program, as well as knowledge of their school protocol and procedures for responding to students in life threatening crisis. The Adult Advisor training is provided to school staff, identified as supported by school administration, to serve as adult advisors, to facilitate and support peer leader teams in conducting Sources of Strength activities. (4) Youth are engaged through careful selection and training of peer leaders from diverse student groups, using the Sources of Strength curriculum. Trained Peer Leaders are then supported by the Adult Advisors in planning and executing campaigns aimed at strengthening protective factors like family support, positive friendships, and mentoring. The number of Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors trained in each school will vary by school size. The organization awarded this RFP will be responsible for onboarding new schools statewide into Sources of Strength by providing both Adult Advisor and Peer Leader trainings conducted by a certified Sources of Strength trainer. In addition, the organization would maintain ongoing technical assistance and support for schools that have completed their initial Sources of Strength training within the previous three years. By the third year of support, offboarding must be offered to help schools build the capacity needed to sustain the program independently. The awardee shall train peer leaders to initiate and conduct a series of systematic peer-to-peer prevention activities under the supervision of trained adult advisors. Messaging activities are to directly target and modify the help-seeking attitudes and behaviors of youths throughout each school, so that students are better able to manage distress, including anxiety, depression, and stress, and draw on positive coping resources including capable adults in their community. The organization shall report these activities to OMH on a regular frequency in the form of a report.