Setting Up Your Community to Prevent the Suicide Crisis

Brenda Vargas, Director of Counseling and Social Services 

Lindsay Taylor

Former Sped teacher, School Counselor, JH &HS Administrator, current District Director of Counseling & Social Services.AzSCA board

East Valley of Phoenix

EMAIL: thi.cusd@gmail.com

www.cusd.ed.com

@BrendaeVargas

Hope Institute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHy5piWZr3Y

• importance of having school counselors + social workers positioned in our schools. 
• collaboration between the two and the essential role that plays in our schools.
• Do we need more of them? What will that do? 
• What are the challenges facing school counselors + social workers in our schools?
• What are the success and limitations of Tiered systems? 
• What if we equipped teachers to become better informants?
• What are critics saying about Hope Institute and how do you counter that?
• threat assessments…part of a problem we’ve seen is that some kids are flagged and get sent to the hospital further traumatizing them…how can we do that differently to protect those kids?

“Collaboration doesn’t just happen within those individuals that work within a school. Collaboration has to happen within the community as well.”