American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York

Mental Health Guide for Tompkins Schools

September 24, 2025thesophiefund

Five Ithaca-based mental health organizations have released the 2025-26 edition of their resource guide, “Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County.”

If you have a comment, concern, or suggestion about mental health in Tompkins schools, please feel free to email it to The Sophie Fund: thesophiefund2016@gmail.com.

National and local surveys document the seriousness of a mental health crisis affecting young people. In a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of high schoolers said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Twenty-nine percent reported poor mental health, and 20 percent said they had considered taking their own lives.

A survey of high school and middle school students in Tompkins County came up with similar patterns. Forty-seven percent said they felt anxious or worried on most days, 35 percent felt sad or depressed on most days, and 34 percent said that “sometimes I think life is not worth it.”

To support Tompkins County schools, the resources guide was first launched in 2024 by the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York, National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes, Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, and The Sophie Fund.

“For our school personnel, this can be a hearty quick reference guide with options that can be tailored to a student’s needs—or a fellow colleague’s needs,” said Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service.

“There are many opportunities for no-cost trainings to enhance the comfort level and confidence in talking to someone else about their mental health.”

After a brief “Mental Health & Suicide Prevention 101” introduction, the guide details the mental health and suicide prevention education and training that the organizations are ready to present to Tompkins school administrators, teachers, students, and parents.

DOWNLOAD: Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County

The guide compiles handbooks and toolkits to assist Tompkins schools in developing mental health promotion and bullying prevention programming as well as suicide prevention strategies in their school communities. The guide points to recommendations for youth use of social media issued by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association.

“Tompkins County’s mental health nonprofits offer beneficial mental health programs designed for students, teachers, and parents,” said Sandra Sorensen, executive director of NAMI Finger Lakes. “Bridging the gap in education and community services is important to all of us. We already have great evidence-based programs designed and ready to go at no cost to our schools. The guide outlines all of our programs and highlights our collaborative nature. We are here to serve and assist.”

The guide also includes 5 Simple Steps, a downloadable “safety plan” young people (or adults) can consult if they are feeling overwhelmed with a deteriorating mood.

DOWNLOAD: 5 Simple Steps

The five organizations requested an opportunity to meet directly with the Tompkins County school superintendents and their leadership teams to provide a presentation on the support services available and respond to any concerns or questions they may have. The organizations have met with the Ithaca and Trumansburg districts, but Lansing, Groton, Dryden, and Newfield have not scheduled a meeting.

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.

Supporting Mental Health in Tompkins County Schools

January 28, 2025thesophiefund

Five Ithaca-based mental health organizations have launched a new resources guide, “Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County.”

Our kids are telling us: “We are struggling with mental health.” From the Covid-19 disruptions, academic pressures, and addictive social media to navigating adolescence in a time of political and economic uncertainty, it is a tough time for many to be young in America.

DOWNLOAD: Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County

National and local surveys of school students reflect the seriousness of the crisis. In a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of high schoolers said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Twenty-nine percent reported poor mental health, and 20 percent said they had considered taking their own lives.

Such data prompt a call to action, to intensify our efforts to safeguard the mental well-being of children growing up in our precarious digital age.

In that spirit, the new resources guide was created by the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York, National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes, Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, and The Sophie Fund.

“Mental health and well-being start with our youth. At a young age, understanding warning signs and developing coping skills can provide a foundation for supportive strategies to be carried into adulthood. Talking about suicide is how we start supporting our young people,” said Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service.

“Gaining an educated understanding of how to have conversations around crisis and suicide can save lives. Dedicating a matter of hours could save a youth’s life. We need to invest the time. We offer a variety of suicide prevention trainings and workshops at no cost to those who want to learn more.”

After providing a brief “Mental Health and Suicide 101” introduction, the resources guide details the education and training that the local organizations are ready to present to Tompkins school administrators, teachers, students, and parents.

If you have a comment, concern, or suggestion about mental health in Tompkins schools, please feel free to email it to The Sophie Fund: thesophiefund2016@gmail.com.

The resources guide compiles handbooks and toolkits to assist Tompkins schools in developing mental health promotion and bullying prevention programming as well as suicide prevention strategies in their school communities. The guide points to recommendations for youth use of social media issued by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association.

The organizations launched the resources guide in last September during Suicide Prevention Month and immediately distributed copies to the superintendents of the seven school districts in Tompkins County.

At the same time, the organizations requested an opportunity to meet directly with the superintendents and their leadership teams to provide a presentation on the support services available and respond to any concerns or questions they may have.

Tompkins school districts include Ithaca City School District; Lansing Central School District; Trumansburg Center School District; Newfield Central School District; Groton Central School District; Dryden Central School District; and TST BOCES. (As of late January 2025, three school districts had responded positively to the request.)

At Cornell University on April 14, Join the Walk to Prevent Suicide

March 20, 2024March 20, 2024thesophiefund

Mental health is a big challenge for universities, but not one that many people want to talk about. At Cornell University, there are voices trying to make a difference.

In 2023, individual volunteers from the campus community came together to start conversations about mental illness and suicide prevention and promote local mental health resources. Working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Greater Central New York chapter, we formed a committee to organize an AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk on the Cornell campus last spring to raise awareness about suicide and fight the stigma that keeps many from seeking help.

Cornellians at the 2023 Out of the Darkness Walk

Our committee is proud to announce that the second annual Out of the Darkness Walk at Cornell will be held on Sunday April 14 starting at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall.

The Walk will follow an accessible two-mile route circling through the center of the beautiful Cornell campus. It is for people of all fitness levels and abilities. Participants may also walk on Barton Hall’s indoor track. The event wraps up around 1 p.m.

More than 500 AFSP Out of the Darkness walks are held across the country each year. They send a message that “suicide is preventable, and no one is alone” and raise funds for research, mental health programming, and support for survivors of suicide loss. The nearly 200 people participating in last year’s Cornell Walk raised $11,692.32.

Interested? Click here to create a fundraising team, become a sponsor or Walk volunteer, help publicize the Walk, register for the Walk in advance, or make a donation to the drive.

Established in 1987, AFSP is a nonprofit organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education, and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. The fundraising goes toward lifesaving care, resources, and programming in the mission to reduce suicide rates and advance improved mental health.

2023 walkers on the Cornell campus

For me, as for many other volunteers, Out of the Darkness walks are deeply personal. Just as I was starting college in 2017, I was introduced to AFSP in a traumatic period after my longtime friend Jack Noonan took his own life.

Jack was one of the first friends I made when I moved to a new school in seventh grade. He saw me sitting alone on the bus on the way to a trip for honor choir and chose to sit with me and introduce me to his friends who went on to become my friends as well. I was a very socially anxious kid, and he helped me find a place to belong.

Jack took his own life two months into starting college. As a college freshman you are just learning how to be independent. You are in a new place, learning a new lifestyle, and that is very difficult. It is hard to reach out for help when you do not know where to find it.

I signed up for my first Out of the Darkness Walk in early 2018 after Jack’s mom invited me to join her. It was a life changing experience for me. It was the first time I was in a space where we were encouraged to speak about mental health problems and surviving suicide loss. I felt heard, seen.

After participating in that Walk, I began volunteering with AFSP to try to make a difference. I started an Out of the Darkness Walk at Central College, my small undergraduate school in Pella, Iowa, the following spring.

When I moved from Iowa to Ithaca and accepted a job at Cornell in 2022, I began exploring the possibility of organizing a campus Out of the Darkness Walk here. I was partly motivated by the school’s well-publicized history with student suicide deaths.

I remember reading the Cornell Wikipedia page and seeing an entire section dedicated to students lost to suicide. It is a deeply sad statistic and I became determined to make a difference here.

I have been gratified by the outpouring of involvement I discovered. We quickly formed a committee consisting of passionate Cornell undergrads, graduate students, staff members, and faculty members.

It is a team dedicated to spreading information about mental health and safe spaces to speak about mental health, and improving conversations and ending stigma on the Cornell campus. We organize AFSP fundraising events including the Walk, host tabling sessions to showcase available resources, and serve on several campus committees focused on mental health concerns.

Of course, my goal for the 2024 Cornell Walk is to make it bigger and better to reach a wider audience across campus. The more Cornell community members participate in the Walk, listen to the speakers, and learn about the resources available, the more lives that can be helped—and saved.

Barton Hall is Event Central, with registration at 11 a.m.; a kickoff ceremony; a resource fair featuring local and campus health providers; yard games; AFSP merch; a raffle for donated items from local and campus businesses; a memorial and positivity sticky note wall; snacks including cotton candy, popcorn, and root beer floats; and a selfie station with Cornell’s own mascot, Touchdown the Big Red Bear.

Speaking at the event: Cornell’s Sonia Rucker, associate vice president for the Department of Inclusion and Belonging and a Presidential Advisor for Diversity and Equity; and Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.

Sponsors of this year’s Cornell Walk include the Cornell Work/Life Team, Cornell Dairy Bar, Wegmans, NY FarmNet, and UPS in Collegetown.

Allow me another word: You do not have to be personally impacted by mental health or suicide to attend this event. Chances are, you or someone you know has struggled with mental health challenges. I hope you will participate because you care about mental health and suicide prevention. Believe me, the mood of this event is hopeful!

—By Cheyanne Scholl

Cheyanne Scholl is the founder of the Cornell University Out of the Darkness Walk and chair for the 2024 Walk.

Thank You, Mental Health Heroes!

October 23, 2022October 23, 2022thesophiefund

Leaders of the mental health community spread messages of support and hope during the 7th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest.

Darrell Harrington, of Be Kind Ithaca, shared a personal story of getting help for crippling anxiety, and how it led him to create the bright red “Be Kind” hearts that adorn lawns and porches throughout Ithaca and beyond.

“I wouldn’t be here right now, or got to be on this amazing journey with Be Kind, if I hadn’t gained control of my anxiety,” said Harrington, crediting his wife and a close friend and band mate for guiding him into therapy.

“If you are suffering, please talk to someone. I know it’s hard. It’s extremely hard. But there is help out there. There’s some amazing people that want to help you. It’s those nine out of ten people that will help you, and take care of you, and make you feel better, and enjoy your life like I am today.”

Kathy Taylor, of the Finger Lakes affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), related how a child’s mental illness turned her family’s world “upside down and inside out.”

National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes

“We thought we could fix his problem through love and support,” she said. “But it wasn’t enough. I had heard about NAMI. It really took a lot of courage to make that phone call and admit we couldn’t fix the problem ourselves.”

Taylor and her husband joined a 12-week NAMI class called Family to Family. “These people were non-judgmental and they helped us so much,” she recalled. “We learned a common language so we could talk to each other about mental illness in a more educated way and understand what our son was going through.

Crystal Howser, of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York, said everyone has a role to play in protecting mental health.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

“Together, we can make a difference,” said Howser, one of the Ithaca area’s most relentless suicide prevention advocates. “We can let others know they are not alone. Together, we are strong, together we are making a difference. Suicide is preventable and suicide prevention begins with all of us.”