SPN's mission in El Dorado is to provide awareness, suicide prevention and support services through education, advocacy and intervention to residents. 

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SPN provides grief and peer support groups; prevention and educational resources to service providers, educators, service clubs, health professionals, public officials, faith communities and community members; coordinated services and referrals for individuals and families;  as well as community events to support our mission.  

 

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

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SPN runs educational programs in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District and the Western Slope of El Dorado County. The SOS (Signs of Suicide) Program is currently offered to 6th and 11th grade students at South Tahoe Middle School and South Tahoe High. The SOS program is a universal, school-based depression awareness and suicide prevention program designed for middle-school (ages 11–13) or high-school (ages 13–17) students. The goals are to 1) decrease suicide and suicide attempts by increasing student knowledge and adaptive attitudes about depression, 2) encourage personal help-seeking and/or help-seeking on behalf of a friend, 3) reduce the stigma of mental illness and acknowledge the importance of seeking help or treatment, 4) engage parents and school staff as partners in prevention through “gatekeeper” education, and 5) encourage schools to develop community-based partnerships to support student mental health. SOS is a state mandated Program.

 

SPN also offers Mental Health Workshops at South Tahoe High School. Thanks to a grant from Barton Foundation, we will be doubling our workshops from 5 presentations last year to 10 presentations for the 2021-22 school year. These one-hour workshops consist of guest speakers presenting on a wide range of topics relating to mental health and suicide. All students are welcome to attend. Workshops begin during lunch time and food is provided. We are very grateful to the community members who volunteer their time to help us with our mission to end stigma and provide resources and education to our youth and community members.

 

General presentations are always available to our local business, agencies, and groups. If you are interested in hosting a presentation in El Dorado County, or would like more information on existing programs, please contact Liz Gore, El Dorado County Program Coordinator at liz@spnawareness.org or 530.654.0444.

 

SUPPORT GROUPS

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When you need support, what better group of people to connect with than those who walk in our same shoes?  Our Suicide Loss Survivors Support Group provides healing support for people coping with the shock, excruciating grief and complex emotions that accompany the loss of a loved one to suicide. We hope you will find resources here to help you deal with, and it is important to know that people can, and do, survive the loss by suicide of a family member or friend. They are forever altered and may never stop missing their loved ones, but they do survive and go on to lead meaningful and contributory lives.

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Our meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday of every month,  5:30 - 7:00 pm at South Lake Tahoe Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.  However, if you are having a difficult time between meetings, please reach out and a private appointment can be made!