Suicide Prevention Through a Social Justice Lens
2022 Conference Agenda
September 15, 2022 - 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
8:30 am - 8:45 am
Introduction/Opening Remarks: Brenda Bahnson, LICSW, MSW
8:45 am - 9:45 am
Racial Equity in Suicide Prevention: Going into communities of color to make an impact: Tanoy Burton
This presentation will address the importance of using a social justice and racial equity lens in suicide prevention. Toy uses her lived experience as a suicide attempt and loss survivor to explore the critical need for suicide prevention and postvention resources in communities of color. She will share the reasons she founded Dee Dee’s Cry as well as the gaps she sees in service delivery and in the field of suicide prevention.
9:45 am - 11:15 am
Keynote: Surviving the U.S. Psychiatric System as a 1.25 Generation LatinX Immigrant: Ysabel Garcia
This presentation covers the psychiatric journey of first-generation Dominican immigrant Ysabel Garcia, Estoy Aqui LLC Founder. Garcia's story of survival showcases the appearance of systemic oppression in psychiatric institutions while raising awareness of socio-cultural conditions that create suicide risk in immigrants. Lastly, she outlines recommendations for mental health practitioners to provide culturally congruent services to Latinx individuals.
11:15 am - 11:30 am
Break
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Microagressions: Dr. Gina Coleman
Session Objectives:
Learn what a microaggression is.
Identify how to interrupt microaggressions.
Gain a deeper understanding of Impact vs. Intent
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Allyship and Leveraging Privilege: Moving from Intent to Action (Part 1): Dr. Pata Suyemoto and Jennifer Kelleher
In this session, we will address active allyship and leveraging privilege as foundational topics and engage participants in challenging conversations about social justice and racial equity. The session will consider multiple ways to leverage privilege to achieve equity within our organizations and communities. Additionally, this session will emphasize the importance of doing this work on individual/interpersonal, cultural, organizational, and systemic levels and will will enable participants to return to their agencies and organizations with greater awareness of how to be an ally, how to leverage privilege, and how to further equity in their organizations.
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Break
2:45 pm - 4:15 pm
Allyship and Leveraging Privilege: Moving from Intent to Action (Part 2): Dr. Pata Suyemoto
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Conference Sponsors:
Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention, Berkshire Health Systems, The Brien Center, NAMI Berkshire County, The Austen Riggs Center, Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Suicide Prevention Program, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention and the Alliance for Equity.