The Collaboration Continuum: Connecting Across Fields to Prevent Suicide and Substance Misuse

September 15, 2022

Learning Session Overview and Objectives

We all know that collaboration and partnerships are the key to success in prevention efforts, including connections between closely related fields such as suicide and substance misuse prevention. This session will provide an overview of a framework for collaboration, the SPRC Collaboration Continuum, which provides tools and resources for prevention programs to strengthen connections and amplify the impact of their collective efforts. After hearing the story of how a regional coalition has engaged community partners in prevention efforts spanning both suicide and substance misuse prevention fields, participants will have the opportunity to examine their own partnership efforts and identify ways they can strengthen collaboration on the ground.

By the end of this learning session, participants will be able to:

Describe the SPRC Collaboration Continuum and its four levels of collaboration, as well as how to access related tools to strengthen their own collaboration.
List new strategies to overcome common barriers to collaboration in their own prevention efforts.
Develop a plan for at least one way they can strengthen their own suicide prevention efforts.

Presenter:

Ellyson Stout, MS, State and Community Suicide Prevention Lead at EDC, specializes in public health and suicide prevention with diverse populations. In her role directing EDC’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) contract, she leads a team working to build suicide prevention capacity and infrastructure nationwide at the state, community, health system, and national levels. Stout has over 20 years of experience in public health, cross-sector collaboration, and health communications, including 15 years working with youth suicide prevention efforts in school, clinical, state and community settings. She has served on numerous expert panels and committees, including most recently the advisory group for the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Elly presents regularly on suicide prevention around the country, and has co-authored articles published in Journal of Primary Prevention and Journal of Rural Mental Health. Elly holds an M.S. in Health Communications from the Tufts University School of Medicine, and a B.S. in International Relations, Law, and Organization from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.