suicide prevention

Cornellians: Join the Campus Walk to Prevent Suicide on April 26!

thesophiefund

Besides finishing up Spring semester, a team of Cornell University volunteers has another goal: getting fellow Cornellians to open up about their mental health and to utilize support resources if they need them.

Students participating in the 2025 AFSP Campus Walk at Cornell

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s fourth annual “Out of the Darkness” Campus Walk at Cornell will take place on Sunday April 26. The committee of volunteers led by chief organizer Cheyanne Scholl includes Cornell staff, students, and faculty along with community members.

“The walk aims to improve the visibility of mental and physical health resources on the Ithaca campus while also reminding all members of campus that they are not alone if they are struggling,” said Scholl.

“As a student-facing manager on campus, I constantly hear about how stressed and overworked these students are and they continue to stretch themselves thinner and thinner,” Scholl added.

“We need to continue talking about mental health and make sure they know where to turn when things feel too big and too hard to manage. The walk benefits campus by starting conversations about suicide prevention and mental health as well as providing a wide array of potential resources to turn to when you need them most.”

Disha, one of the student organizers, stresses the benefits of raising awareness on campus.

“Most people here don’t talk about mental health,” she said. “We aren’t really taught how to stay on top of our mental health nor do people realize how to use the services. People act like they are never sad or upset, even though that’s totally normal. Mental health needs to be talked about more.”

The 2023, 2024, and 2025 Cornell Campus Walks brought participation from hundreds of students, faculty, and staff and raised more than $50,000 for AFSP research and programming. The goal this year is to collect $15,000 in donations.

Click here to register, create a fundraising team, or donate to the Cornell Campus Walk

More than 500 AFSP Out of the Darkness walks are held across the country each year. Besides raising funds, the walks send a message that “suicide is preventable, and no one is alone,” and help build a community around mental health. They show solidarity and bring hope for suicide attempt survivors or loss survivors.

Fundraising or donating are not requirements to take part in the Campus Walk; everyone from the Cornell community and beyond is welcome.

The event starts at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall with Campus Walk check-ins; a mental health resource fair featuring local and campus health providers; yard games; a raffle with donated items from local and campus businesses; a memorial and positivity sticky note wall; snacks including cotton candy and popcorn, and more.

At 12 Noon the kickoff ceremony will commence with speakers, and an honor bead ceremony to commemorate lost loved ones and lived experiences. Speakers include Nambita Sahai, co-president of Cornell’s Empathy, Assistance & Referral Service (EARS); and Sandra Sorensen, executive director of NAMI Finger Lakes based in Ithaca.

Walkers will follow an accessible two-mile route through the center of the beautiful Cornell campus. It is for people of all fitness levels and abilities. Participants may also walk/roll on Barton Hall’s indoor track.

Sponsors of this year’s Cornell Campus Walk include: Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services of Tompkins County; NY FarmNet; Halco Home Solutions; Be Kind Ithaca; Free Hugs Ithaca; and Taste of Thai Express.

To connect with AFSP’s campus efforts, email: cornellafsp@gmail.com.

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

For AFSP support and/or other resources, please visit www.afsp.org/get-help and www.afsp.org/resources.

UPDATED Tompkins Mental Health Support Resources

thesophiefund

The Mental Health Support and Crisis Services resource for Tompkins County has been updated for 2026.

The guide is a hyperlinked listing of essential local services for suicide prevention, psychotherapy, addiction recovery, sexual assault and domestic violence, and support groups. Click on the links for more detailed information about available services and programs.

The brief guide is compiled every year by The Sophie Fund in collaboration with Tompkins County Whole Health, Cayuga Health, Guthrie, and the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.

DOWNLOAD PDF DOWNLOAD SHAREABLE Page 1 Page 2

Click HERE for other mental health guides compiled by The Sophie Fund

For Tompkins Clinicians: Free Training in Suicide Care

thesophiefund

The Sophie Fund is sponsoring free registration—and free continuing education credits (CEUs)—for healthcare professionals in Tompkins County to attend a two-day online training in suicide prevention featuring many leading experts.

The training program, “Suicide Safer Care in Clinical Practice,” takes place on the afternoons of Tuesday March 10 and Wednesday March 11.

It is organized by The Wellness Institute, which says attendees “will receive direct guidance from intervention developers, current updates into emerging suicide prevention challenges, and concrete steps to work with clients at risk with greater confidence, competence, and clarity.”

The training will cover primary treatments for suicidality such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP) and Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT) as well as brief interventions including Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program (ASSIP) and Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). The program includes a session devoted to treating suicidality in youth. (See full program, below.)

The training is also sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Jed Foundation, the Education Development Center, Zero Suicide Institute, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, EveryMind, SAVE, and CAMS-care.

Free registration with free continuing education credits for physicians, primary care clinicians, health and mental health clinicians, and clinical social workers serving Tompkins County is supported by a grant from The Sophie Fund.

To request a registration code for free registration, healthcare professionals can email The Sophie Fund at thesophiefund2016@gmail.com providing their 1) name, 2) email address, 3) degree level, and 4) place of employment (or name and address of practice, if self-employed).

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, said his organization’s sponsorship of the Wellness Institute program for the fifth year in a row is intended to advance suicide prevention with local healthcare providers. Thus far, The Sophie Fund has provided the free training for 220 clinicians in Tompkins County, including the counseling center staffs of Cornell University and Ithaca College.

Zero Suicide is an emerging standard designed to save lives by closing gaps in the suicide care offered by healthcare providers. The model provides a practical framework for system-wide quality improvement in areas including training staff in current best practices, identifying at-risk individuals through comprehensive screening and assessment, engaging at-risk patients with effective care management, evidence-based treatments, and safe care transition.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10-14 and 25-34. Recently, Tompkins County has averaged 12 suicide deaths per year. Another 1,600 parents, children, siblings, friends, and spouses may be impacted by the resulting psychological, spiritual, and/or financial loss.

An estimated 300 people in Tompkins County may attempt suicide every year. While rates for other causes of death have remained steady or declined, the U.S. suicide rate increased 35.2% from 1999 to 2018.

Suicide Safer Care in Clinical Practice

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1-5 P.M. EST

Suicide Theories

Thomas Joiner, PhD; David Rudd, PhD

Primary Interventions: CT-SP vs. DBT

Kate Comtois, PhD, MPH; Kelly Green, PhD

Brief Interventions: ASSIP vs. BCBT vs. CAMS

Anja Gysin-Maillar, PhD; Craig Bryan, PsyD, ABPP; Raymond Tucker, PhD

Youth Interventions: ABFT vs. IPT-A vs. DBT-A

Guy Diamond, PhD; Alec Miller, PsyD; Anat Brunstein-Klomek, PhD’ Jonathan Singer, PhD, LCSW

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1-5 P.M. EST

Joining the Client in the Dark: Leaning into Empathy Rather than Fear

Stacey Freedenthal, PhD

The Silent Partner: Addressing Substance Use in Suicide Prevention

Arwen Podesta, MD

AI, Chatbots, and Apps: Implications in Clinical Care

John Torous, MD, MBI

Self Care is Not a Luxury: Techniques for Protecting Against Vicarious Trauma

Jeffrey Barnett, PhD

Trigger Warning: Re-framing Firearm Counseling from “Restriction” to “Safety”

Emmy Betz, MD, MPH

Crisis-Ready: Preparing a Suicide-Safe Practice

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD

In Practice: Effective Solutions to Unique Situations (Bridging the Gap between Theory and Implementation)

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD; Jennifer Hartstein, PsyD

Learning Objectives

  • Describe two research-based models for understanding suicide, identify motivations for suicide and their implications in clinical treatment.
  • Describe evidence-based interventions DBT and CBT-SP for suicide ideation and behaviors and how to apply each approach to clinical cases.
  • Describe evidence-based brief suicide interventions, ASSIP, CAMS, and BCBT and how to apply each approach to clinical cases.
  • Describe evidence-based suicide interventions for youth, ABFT, DBT, and IPT-A and how to apply each approach to clinical cases.
  • Differentiate client-centered care from defensive practice in treating individuals with suicide ideation and/or behavior.
  • Describe how mental health apps and AI-enabled chatbots are currently being used in clinical care. Review their evidence base, limitations, and risks related to safety, bias, and clinical validity.
  • Apply practical frameworks to assess digital tools and suggest ways to communicate the risks and benefits to patients.
  • Describe a screening process that detects substance use disorders and co-morbid risk for suicide.
  • Explain the importance of ongoing self-care to maintain clinical effectiveness when treating suicidal patients and outline an effective self-care plan.
  •  Describe how language impacts delivery of firearm suicide prevention messaging or counseling and three preferred terms relevant to firearm suicide prevention.
  • Identify suicide risk factors and warning signs and describe key steps for preparing one’s clinical practice to respond effectively to individuals expressing suicidal ideation.
  • Analyze complex cases and apply practical, evidence-informed strategies to effectively manage suicide ideation and behaviors in clinical practice

Support the Chill Challenge!

thesophiefund

So you thought it was cold outside? Spare a warm thought—and a donation—for the brave souls taking a polar plunge in Cayuga Lake on New Year’s Day to collect funds for addiction recovery.

Let the polar plunge begin!

The 11th Annual Ithaca Chill Challenge: Dip or Dodge! aims to raise $50,000 for Ithaca Community Recovery (ICR), a nonprofit organization that provides a safe, affordable, and welcoming space for people in recovery from addiction.

CLICK HERE to make a donation to the Ithaca Chill Challenge

ICR has served as a home base for the recovery community for more than a quarter century. Located at 518 West Seneca Street, it provides 12-step programs, recovery-themed yoga, other support services, and fellowship every day of the year. ICR helps build a vibrant community of care and resilience.

The Ithaca Chill Challenge has been a beloved tradition since 2015, merging fundraising with fun as hundreds of participants raise money from friends and family. The event includes cake, prizes for the top fundraisers, and awards for best costumes.

Chill Challenge of New Year’s Past

The human polar bears will jump into Cayuga Lake from the Ithaca Yacht Club at 1 p.m. on January 1. Donors decide their participant’s fate: in making a contribution, they either pledge to “dip” them into the icy waters or let them “dodge” the plunge.

Spectators are welcome—”bring a camera,” the organizers say. The Yacht Club is located at 1090 Glenwood Road in Ithaca. The lake’s water temperature is expected to hover just above freezing on New Year’s Day; the weather forecast projects the ambient air temperature around 15 degrees Fahrenheit and the “feels like” temperature around 6 degrees.

Vying for Best Costume Award

“The Ithaca Chill Challenge is a vital part of what makes our city thrive,” said Mayor Robert Cantelmo, one of this year’s participant-fundraisers and an event speaker. “This event brings our community together for a day of fun and camaraderie, while raising essential funds for Ithaca Community Recovery, which is a backbone institution for public health. Supporting recovery is a core investment in the health, safety, and future of every one of our neighborhoods.”

Another speaker is John Rowley, a retired Tompkins County judge who was instrumental in founding the Tompkins County Family Treatment Court in 2001.

“In my experience, a stable, safe space like Ithaca Community Recovery is an indispensable element of long-term healing and restored citizenship,” said Rowley. “ICR offers a critical second chance for individuals and their families to rebuild their lives free from judgment. The Chill Challenge is how we, as a community, fund that foundation.”

Veronica Johnson is the chair of the Chill Challenge Committee.

“This event is much more than a quick dip in the lake—it’s a powerful commitment to recovery in Ithaca,” she said. “For 25 years, Ithaca Community Recovery has provided a safe, non-judgmental space for healing, and the Chill Challenge ensures we can continue that essential work.”

CLICK HERE to make a donation to the Ithaca Chill Challenge

Suicide Prevention Month @ Cayuga Health

thesophiefund

Cayuga Health and its partners within the Centralus Health system are conducting an awareness campaign throughout September to engage their communities and internal health teams to mark National Suicide Prevention Month.

“We’ll continue to build a healthier, more supportive community for all”

Health leaders set up information tables across the Centralus campuses, featuring items such as pins, bracelets, pens, and bags. The resources are designed to spark conversation, promote awareness, and show solidarity.

They also launched a cascading communication plan across all Cayuga and Arnot facilities to heighten the system’s initiative to prevent deaths by suicide. The efforts are being shared on The Pulse, an intranet reaching all members of the Centralus health system.

“This month is a meaningful opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to mental health and suicide prevention, and I’m confident that, through collaboration, we’ll continue to build a healthier, more supportive community for all,” said Andreia de Lima, Chief Medical Officer, Cayuga Health/Centralus Health.

“Conversation, awareness, and solidarity”

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.