Saving Lives in Tennessee...

Tennessee Lives Count (TLC) Project

General Information

Staff

TLC Task Force

Upcoming Trainings

Contact Information

General Information

Within the state of Tennessee, suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth aged 15-24, and the rate for this age cohort exceeds the national rate in one-third of the state’s counties. In 2003, at least 3,600 teenagers and young adults within our state attempted suicide.* In 2001-02, 18% of surveyed middle school students considered suicide, 7.2% attempted suicide, and 2.6% required medical attention following an attempt.**

In response, the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network began implementation of the Tennessee Lives Count (TLC) on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, effective February 1, 2006. The project is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in accordance with the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act of 2004.

TLC is a statewide early intervention/prevention project intended to reduce suicides and suicide attempts for youth aged 10-24. The project targets youth at extreme risk for suicide, such as those in state custody, juvenile justice facilities, alternative schools, and special education programs; gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth; youth with disciplinary and/or truancy problems; and other high risk populations.

The primary focus of TLC involves the training of gatekeepers—persons who work with and supervise youth and who are in a position to identify and help troubled and/or suicidal teens and young adults. These include staff within schools; youth and social services departments; the juvenile justice system; universities, etc., as well as foster parents. These gatekeepers will receive training in the Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) suicide intervention curriculum, This evidence-based basic awareness program teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, offer hope to troubled individuals, connect them with the crisis response and mental health resources they need, and ultimately save lives. This training will prepare adults who work with children to identify and address prevention/intervention needs within high-risk populations. Members of statewide professional associations will also receive this training, as well as five state advisory boards/commissions.

MOUs between the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Tennessee Departments of Education, Health, Children’s Services, and juvenile courts will ensure that such training continues beyond the grant period. Additionally, university faculty and students enrolled in schools of social work, counseling, education, and psychology will be trained to ensure that future graduates are well prepared to identify and appropriately address youth at risk for suicide.

The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network hopes to accomplish the following by way of the Tennessee Lives Count project by 2009:

• 14,000 gatekeepers, including 200 university faculty and 1,000 students trained in QPR and lethality assessment, who will impact at least 180,000 high-risk youth,
• state agency memorandum of understandings (MOUs) mandating gatekeeper training,
• development and distribution of resource directories and materials tailored to specific regions of the state,
• statewide taskforce completion of a needs assessment with policy/legislative recommendations,
• education of at least fifteen professional organizations and five state advisory boards/commissions,
• involvement of the Youth Suicide Prevention Taskforce throughout the project,
• development of a sustainability plan, and
• completion of three project evaluations, coordinated with SAMHSA’s national evaluation.

Staff

The TLC staff's day-to-day operations are managed by a Project Coordinator responsible for general duties associated with the implementation of the TLC Project, which includes training, networking, advocacy on behalf of the project. Two Project Trainers are charged with gatekeeper trainings, assisting the Youth Coordinator in creating resource directories, and participation in and organization of advocacy activities. The Adminstrative Assistant handles the administrative aspects of the project, including bookkeeping and scheduling of trainings.

Dustin Keller, Project Coordinator (dkeller@tspn.org)

Prior to his involvement with TLC, Dustin represented the Rural West region on TSPN's Advisory Council. He coordinates the development of resource directories for the project in addition to his regular duties.

A licensed professional counselor (LPC), Dustin previously served as a Lead Specialized Crisis Counselor with Youth Villages in Jackson, where he provided assessment, de-escalation and referrals for children and adolescents in a psychiatric crisis. He also conducted individual and group psychotherapy with children and adolescents, interviews with parents and follow-up surveys with past clients. Dustin has also served as a community educator for Hospice South and directed both the Offices of Housing/Residence Life and Student Activities for Lambuth University.

Tiffany Washington, Project Trainer (twashington@tspn.org)

As the Statewide Youth Coordinator for Tennessee Voices for Children (TVC), Tiffany she worked to mobilize teenagers with mental health diagnoses to educate other youth and adults about teen mental health through youth service projects, presentations, and advocacy activities. She has conducted workshops on children’s mental
health, and she also developed and organized the Youth Leadership Track of the State of the Child Conference, designed to promote a system of care for children's mental health. She also developed public relations material for TVC, and recruited and trained volunteers to with work with youth with mental health issues across Tennessee.

Tiffany has staged presentations at several high-profile mental health events, including the Yes 2 Kids and State of the Child conferences, as well as the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health Conference. She has also addressed students at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Prior to her work as a Youth Coordinator, Washington served TVC as a Family Service Coordinator, working as an advocate for families of children with mental health issues in education, mental health, and legal settings. She has also worked with the Junior League Family Resource Center, helping to refine recruitment systems for the Families as Classroom Teachers (FACT) Program.

TLC Task Force

TLC has initiated a Task Force to assess suicide prevention/intervention needs and recommend legislative support for implementation of relevant programs, improving media reporting, expanding surveillance systems, and addressing lethal means issues. These individuals donate their time to serve on the Task Force:

Contact Information

To get involved with the Tennessee Lives Count project, contact TLC Project Coordinator Dustin Keller at (615) 297-1077 or via e-mail at dkeller@tspn.org.

*Source: 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.
**Source: Tennessee Middle School Health Survey, 2001-02, courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Health.

P.O. Box 40329    Nashville, TN 37204     Phone: 615-297-1077    Fax : 615-313-9981     Email: tspn@tspn.org This website is presented as an educational resource by TSPN and is not designed to provide services/therapy to people in crisis.