Suicide Prevention
Resource Center
The Role of Advocacy in
Suicide Prevention
Jerry Reed, Ph.D., MSW
3rd Australian Postvention Conference
Sydney, Australia
June 30, 2012
The Role of Advocacy in Suicide Prevention
• Presentation Overview:
– The role of policy solutions and advocacy in
suicide prevention
– Examples of success stories from the US
– How to advocate successfully
– Next steps
Opening Quote
“Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it’s the only
thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead
Group Discussion:
Suicide Prevention in Australia
• What are some of Australia’s largest
challenges in suicide prevention that are
amenable to a policy/advocacy solution?
• What are some of the solutions?
• What would it take to implement these policy
solutions?
Discussion: Suicide Prevention in Australia
• What are the major organizations in Australia
addressing suicide prevention (both nationally
and regionally)?
• What are the major advocacy organizations
addressing suicide prevention in Australia?
• Where would you go for resources and
information on suicide prevention? Where
would you go if you wanted to advocate?
Success stories
• Overview of US grassroots advocacy efforts:
– Survivor movement
– SPAN USA
– Senate Resolution 84 & House Resolution 212
– 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Success stories
• Legislative Success stories:
– Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act
– Jason Flatt Act
– Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act
– Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment and
Management Act
– Mental Health Parity
– Medicare Parity
Success stories
• There are many suicide prevention issues in
the US to which a policy solution has not been
identified.
• Examples
– Middle age men suicide prevention
– Workplace suicide prevention
– Older Adult suicide prevention
– Ensuring more timely data
– Increasing investment in research
Discussion
Discussion:
Your local legislator has approached you in your
role as a suicide prevention advocate and asked
for ideas for legislation they could introduce to
reduce suicide and suicidal behavior in Australia.
What are some potential policy solution you might
propose? Is policy change through legislation the
best approach?
What is advocacy?
Advocacy (n.) The act of arguing in favor of
something, such as a cause, idea, or policy;
active support.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
For a Cause
Supporting what you believe is right
Making friends and influencing people
For an Individual
Representing the wishes of someone else
Legal guardianship
Where do you advocate?
• Advocacy is more than just about legislation
– Schools
– Local government
– Regulations
– Workplace policies
– Health Insurance company policy
– Appointed officials in government (career
government officials)
Why Advocate?
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You Care
You Can Make a Difference
If You Don’t Act, Who Will?
Raise awareness
Build support
Educate
Change rules or laws
Obtain funding
Improve services
One Case Example
• Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment and
Management Act:
– State law that requires mental health professionals, social workers and
occupational therapists to receive six hours of training every six years,
as part of their continuing education requirement, starting in 2014.
• Based on the information above, answer the
following questions:
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Who would you expect to support the proposed legislation?
Who would be opposed to the legislation?
What might be some potential unintended consequences?
Is legislation the only way to achieve the legislation’s intended
outcome? If not, what are some other strategies?
What needs to be done to build
momentum?
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Know what you want to change
Reach out to others
Examine strengths and challenges
Determine strategy and set priorities
Be persistent
Ensure credibility – know your facts
Build skills and train others
Mobilize resources
Stay focused and determined
Expect setbacks and celebrate victories
Passion alone is not enough
• Know your issue:
– Problem Definition. How you define your issue will help determine
which type of policy solution (if any) you seek.
– Are there resources in your community to help you define the problem?
• Australian National Strategy
• Suicide prevention organizations
• Other advocates
Source: US Centers for Disease Control
Do your homework
• Know what you want and why – Have a very
clear message
• Know your friends and know your opposition
• Know your target audience
• Learn how to use advocacy tools
Passion and Stories do matter! Statistics and facts need
stories behind them to bring them to life.
Policy ask + passion and personal story = change
What resources already exist?
-Suicide Prevention Resource Center: www.sprc.org
-Example: If the issue is a lack of postvention services
in a school setting, the SPRC “After a Suicide” toolkit
or the toolkit for high schools are potential tools to
help decide what policies and procedures are needed.
Strategy & Tactics
STRATEGY is your blueprint
• Where do you want to go and how do you get there?
• Long term and immediate objectives
TACTICS are your tools
• What are the most effective actions to take: petitions, visits,
letters, telephone calls?
• What do you have the capacity to do?
• Who will partner with you to carry the message?
• What would be most effective way to convey the message?
The Tools of Advocacy
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Letters, petitions, visits and calls
Web based tools if available
Manuals and training to enlist others
Fact sheets and reports
Special events
Engage the media
Enlist champions
Legislative days
What can you ask for?
• Introduce or cosponsor legislation
• Vote for/against a bill
• Support increased funding
• Enter a statement in the Legislative Record
• Write a letter to a national or regional agency on your behalf
• Write a letter to a Committee Chairman on your behalf
• Arrange a meeting with other national or regional agencies or
officials
• Speak at an event
• Ask for something that is possible
How to communicate?
• Letter (stick to one issue)
• Visit
– National Office
– Regional Office
– District Office
• Phone call
• Fax
• E-mail
• Attend local meetings
• Attend public activities/events
When writing public officials
• Fully state your case, using the same facts you
would in a visit
• Make clear you would like a response
• Be polite and courteous, never threaten or
challenge
• If possible, follow up with a phone call, and say
you will do so in your faxed letter or email
• Be brief but thorough
• Make sure you make the ask. What do you want
them to do?
When visiting in person
• Be Yourself
• Be Brief - Brevity is appreciated
• Personalize! Explain your personal or professional
interest in suicide prevention issues
• Do Your Homework! Know how the issue affects
suicide prevention, education or research
• Offer to be a Resource! On suicide prevention,
education and research
• Leave behind short issue briefs or other information
Let’s Practice
Role Play: Groups of Two
• You have set up a meeting with your local elected
official to discuss the issue of suicide prevention in
older adults.
• Constituent: Your role is to state your argument for
your policy position in a brief, personalized and
succinct manner. Be sure to ask for a specific action.
• Local elected official: Your role is to meet with your
constituent and ask questions regarding what action
they want you to take. You can either support or
oppose their proposal.
Some Things You Can Do Now!
• Write a letter to the local newspaper
• Learn all you can about suicide prevention in
Australia
• Make a phone call to your legislator or staff to learn
their position on suicide prevention
• Visit your legislator
• Write a letter to your regional governing official to
see what is being done where you live
• Attend a town hall or community meeting on suicide
prevention
• Find out what is happening where you live to
advance suicide prevention and join in with others
Working with the media
Letters to the Editor
Opinion / Editorials
Social Media
Online Message Boards/Commentary
Events/Press Releases
Look to WHO/IASP suicide and the media
guidelines
• Look for other resources
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Letters to the Editor
Submitting letters are an easy way to advocate via media
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Letters have a better chance of being published if it is in response to a
current article/event (Timeliness)
Make your letter personal and local
Many newspapers want exclusive letters, so avoid sending the same
letter, by the same author to multiple papers in your area
Keep your letter brief. Most papers require letters be around 150
words. Some allow up to 250 words
Letters must include your name, address, and daytime phone number
to be considered
Email, fax or submit letters online. Do not send letters as attachments
Letters should be positive, not overly critical. Our goal is to inform and
educate
Op-eds/editorials
TIPS:
• Op-eds are longer then letters, usually around 500 to
700 words. Each publication is different
• Newspapers, generally, have less room for an op-ed
making it a bit more difficult to get published
• Op-eds that are succinct, passionate, factual and
persuasive increase likelihood of being published
• Check online or call the paper to check on how best
to submit an op-ed. Some have online forms or
specific emails addresses.
Stay informed
• The advocates role does not end when the
legislation is signed into law.
• The real design of legislation and
determination of whether it will have
intended behavior change often occurs during
the regulation writing process and
implementation.
• Appointed officials are key stakeholders in this
process.
Be prepared to go the distance
• Stay engaged, even after the bill is signed.
• Implementation is where the rubber meets
the road.
• Even the best solutions can be futile if they
are not implemented and enforced effectively.
• Authorization does not mean appropriation
• Partial appropriation is not full appropriation
Lessons from experience
• Follow up exciting events with sustained
advocacy. Always know the next step.
• Yesterday’s bright new idea is today’s “same
old”. Stay current.
• Beware of letting the “perfect be the enemy
of the good”
• Politics is the art of the possible
• Remember there is strength in numbers
• There is credibility in coalitions
• Partnership requires give and take. You can’t
do this alone.
Remember
Know what you want and why
You have the right to ask
Skills count
Be brief, be bright and be gone!
Persistence pays off in the long run
Passion is power -- Advocate for what you
believe
• Celebrate victories
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Next steps
What is one thing you plan to take away from
today’s workshop and put into practice?
Closing Quote
“You must be the change you want to see in
the world.”
--Mahatma
Gandhi
Contact
Jerry Reed, Ph.D., MSW
Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20007
[email protected]
www.sprc.org
(202) 572-3771 (direct)