Category: Articles

The Jed Foundation (JED) is a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults across the country. Through programs and partnerships, JED works with schools to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems while also equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other.  

In 2023, JED and Forefront launched a partnership to expand access to the JED High School program to high schools in Washington. JED High School is a three-year strategic planning and technical assistance program that partners with high schools to assess a community’s needs; develop a customized strategic plan to build on existing strengths; and implement tools, strategies, and techniques aimed at creating measurable improvements in student mental health and a more connected community. To date, we have enrolled 21 schools in the JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention program. 

The partnership has given participating schools the best of both worlds. This includes JED’s data-driven, strategic planning paired and Forefront’s established expertise in Washington state alongside free access to Forefront’s Suicide Prevention LEARN gatekeeper training for participating schools.  

So far, the results have been extremely encouraging. Nearly 8,000 high school students have benefited from JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention, and schools have reported an increased sense of preparedness to support students’ mental health needs. The partnership has also fostered important conversations around mental health and suicide prevention that continue to ripple through school communities. 

Because of this, long-standing Forefront in the Schools communities have appreciated the opportunity to deepen their comprehensive suicide prevention programming, while schools that have never worked with us before are excited to join the program. 

“It’s been incredibly exciting to work with our school partners across the state with JED’s support in launching JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention,” says Michelle Flores, Forefront’s School Mental Health Specialist, who supports schools in the program. “We’ve combined the insights and knowledge from Forefront’s work in Washington state with JED’s stellar reputation as a resource and programming partner in mental health promotion. We know how busy schools are, so we take intentional steps to ensure we are working within a school’s capacity. We emphasize the importance of building an interdisciplinary team, as suicide prevention requires all of us working together.” 

Tracie Kelly, Assistant Principal at Cedarcrest High School, says, “The work of JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention is a research-based holistic approach to suicide prevention that builds off the schools’ existing systems and strengths. The framework provides guidance for what needs to be in place to best support the mental health of students, while being flexible enough for the work to be tailored to the specific needs of each school community. The work we are doing with Forefront and JED is making a difference!” 

Flores agrees. “Through the data collected and analyzed by The Jed Foundation, I’ve seen schools take a variety of steps, both big and small, to implement changes in their communities,” she says. “These include prioritizing faculty and staff wellness, increasing outreach, strengthening partnerships with parents and caregivers, building school crisis plans, or adding social connection times during lunch periods for students to reduce isolation. In the long run, it’s our goal to see this impact reflected in school data. But for now, it’s incredibly rewarding to see the immediate impact of our partnership on schools.” 

JED praised the impactful partnership. “Teens spend a great deal of their time in school, an environment that has the power to significantly support and advance student emotional well-being. Creating a culture of care where young people feel comfortable asking for help can have a huge positive impact on students and help them thrive,” says Tony Walker, JED’s Senior Vice President of Academic Programs. “JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention offers lifesaving resources as part of this three-year technical assistance program for participating Washington state high schools. JED’s innovative programming, combined with Forefront’s deep local expertise, has been a great success, and we are excited about what the 2024-25 school year will bring.”  

We are excited to see how we can continue to leverage our partnership and improve the landscape of youth mental health and suicide prevention in Washington state schools. 

 

A new paper, Implementing LEARN: Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Training for High School Students, Parents, and School Personnel, published today in the Journal of School Health, shows the efficacy of Forefront Suicide Prevention LEARN® gatekeeper training in high school communities. High school educators, students, and families who participated in peer-led trainings reported an increased likelihood in participating in each of the five LEARN steps, as a result of attending peer-led trainings. They also indicated a high level of satisfaction with their peer trainers.

For years, schools participating in Forefront in the Schools have told us that our program, especially peer-led LEARN trainings, makes a difference. It’s great to see this anecdotal feedback is supported by robust data.

“Roosevelt implemented the Forefront Program at our school starting in 2015. The program has provided us with a structure for suicide prevention with students and families within our community.  Our teachers, administrators, families and students are well educated in suicide prevention. Forefront in the schools has taught us as a community to have conversations about suicide, which has saved lives, we are grateful we are partners with this exceptional program.”  -Erin Bailey, Academic Intervention Specialist, Roosevelt High School. 

“As a counseling department, specifically, we have always prioritized Suicide Prevention; it’s always been at the forefront of our programming. But having Forefront, for the last two years has really helped bring in other educator roles on campus. Specifically, getting admin really invested and prioritizing this, incorporating teacher leaders as well as students…It’s been great to see a shift from solely living in the counseling world to a more campus-wide effort to address Suicide Prevention.” – Jenn, Counselor, Tyee High School 

Congratulations (and thank you!) to our research team for their work! Read more about our research & evaluation.

This week, we introduced our new training course, Fundamentals of Community-Based Suicide Prevention.

This series of seven videos is available to stream on demand via our website.

Federal agencies have recommended that communities take a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, but some state and community partners have expressed uncertainty on how to implement this.

In response, we have developed a seven-part training course, which provides a roadmap and outlines strategies for implementing a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, in alignment with the new 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. We hope it helps those who participate in community-based suicide prevention understand how to engage with this important work.

The seven sessions are a comprehensive curriculum, but can also work as stand-alone trainings, covering the following topics:

1. Introduction: Characteristics of Suicide and Challenges in Prevention
2. Overview of Suicide Prevention: The Public Health Approach and Comprehensive Programming
3. Messaging and Communications: Framework for Successful Messaging
4. Connectedness in Suicide Prevention
5. Recognition and Referral: Gatekeeper Role in Suicide Prevention
6. Lethal Means Safety: Firearms and Suicide Risk
7. Health Care Settings: Suicide Care and the Zero Suicide Framework

Developed and presented for Forefront by Dr. Jeffrey C. Sung, in partnership with the Washington State Department of Health, the series is free to stream on demand, and open to anyone with an interest in suicide prevention. Up to seven Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be available for Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, and Licensed Mental Health Counselors. 

The Nate Chute Foundation (NCF) is a non-profit organization that promotes mental wellness and suicide prevention in Western Montana.

Nate Chute Foundation started in 1999 as an all-volunteer grassroots organization supporting community needs as they arose. Now, it offers suicide prevention and mental health training and education programs to schools, workplaces, and community organizations, financial aid towards the cost of behavioral health therapy for families in need, and provides care packages for those recently bereaved by suicide. In 2022, they trained over 3,000 people across all their programs, and 119 students were connected with additional support as a result of participating in a Nate Chute Foundation training.

Previously, NCF had worked with other organizations to deliver their suicide prevention trainings. They approached Forefront in the summer of 2023, to explore whether we could partner on bringing Forefront in the Schools to Montana. However, as we weren’t ready for our FIS to cross state borders, we suggested using our Forefront Suicide Prevention LEARN® trainings instead, using our Community LEARN for their general community trainings and our School LEARN trainings for parents and Educators.

One of the unique aspects of LEARN is our emphasis on lethal means safety information. We include this because reducing or removing access to an individual’s chosen method during a time of crisis can help prevent suicides and save lives. Nate Chute Foundation’s team were delighted to find that the way we talk about this is effective for their communities in Montana.

“The Nate Chute Foundation began collaborating with Forefront and the LEARN curriculum after searching the nation for a program with a strong evidence base, approachable staff, and modern materials,” says Jenny Cloutier, NCF Program Director.

After working with us last summer to customize our curriculum for their organization and undergoing Training of Trainers, they started presenting LEARN to the communities they support in September 2023. So far, feedback has been extremely positive!

Jenny Cloutier says, “The feedback we have received from our community has been overwhelmingly positive, with many testimonials on how useful the skills they learned were, and that many individuals have felt they have the knowledge to reach out to those in need.” For our part, Forefront is thrilled to partner with the Nate Chute Foundation to share our LEARN curriculum and suicide prevention messaging with Montanans.

Emma Mallonee, Forefront Deputy Director and Training Director, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with Nate Chute Foundation because our organizations’ missions align so well. We are both focused on education and support to the communities we serve, to help them reduce suicide. The Nate Chute Foundation’s mission ‘supports, educates, and empowers our community to promote mental wellness and reduce suicide,’ while ours is ‘to help people take action to prevent suicide in their communities.’ We look forward to continuing our partnership to share our message of hope and help more Montanans learn how to prevent suicide in their communities.”

What a day! On Friday March 22, Forefront in the Schools welcomed nearly 150 students and staff from schools across the Puget Sound region for Day of Hope. This is one of our favorite events every single year, bringing together schools in our program to share their work on comprehensive suicide prevention in their communities, including stories of belonging, care, and resilience. 

Day of Hope is an opportunity to connect, celebrate, and learn new skills for students and staff participating in Forefront’s school-based programing.

A highlight was keynote speaker Jen Kulik, PhD (SilverKite Community Arts), who talked about the importance of connection as a protective factor against social isolation and loneliness, and how you can build connection through play and the arts—especially theatre. Crisis Connections and NAMI Washington shared resources, messages of hope, and tangible suggestions for how young people can support each other. Educators participated in a community of practice around prevention in their schools, sharing information, successes, and ideas—and came away wanting more time to connect with each other across school communities. Lunch brought opportunities to connect and celebrate in different ways when Muckleshoot Tribal School representatives shared a traditional prayer with the community, and UW mascot Dubs II joined us for photos and puppy love.

 And most important of all – students from each school shared stories about the work they have done in their school communities this year to promote suicide prevention and mental health. From building connections through affinity spaces, promoting schoolwide campaigns, and even an op-ed in The Seattle Times, we were thrilled to celebrate their successes! 

We are grateful for the opportunity to work with all participating schools, whose work makes us hopeful for the future! In addition, Forefront is especially thankful to foundry10 for underwriting Day of Hope 2024 and to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for their continued partnership around our school-based programs.

It’s been a big year for our School-Based Programs in 2023. Even though our schools programming runs on a school-year calendar, we’re taking a moment before the end of 2023 to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and the wonderful organizations we work with to support youth and build resilient school communities.

We’re grateful to all our partners for the work they do, and we are excited to continue working with them in the coming year. Here are some of the highlights from this year:

• Last year our Forefront in the Schools (FIS) program worked with or shared resources with over 50 schools, 9 Educational Service Districts, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)–some of those schools are long-time participants in FIS and some called on us for the first time.
• Over the course of the spring and fall, four school districts have partnered with us to implement Forefront in the Schools at the district level – Sultan, Cascade, Marysville, and Central Kitsap. This initial phase of work supports consistent ESA training, team formation and shared leadership at the district and school level, and work on the school’s prevention intervention and response plans.
• We also have 14 schools joining us for JED High School delivered by Forefront – five of these schools have worked with us in the past, and are excited to continue their suicide prevention work via the slightly different “flavor” of JED’s program. These schools will be kicking off their work with us with baseline assessments and student/staff surveys that will inform strategic planning and implementation.
• And we’ve continued working with state agencies and committees such as OSPI, the School-based Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention (SBBHSP) subcommittee of The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG), and the Washington State Office of the Attorney General (AGO)’s Tip Line committee. We look forward to sharing information about the work of these groups in 2024.
• Starting this year we’ve been able to offer a broader menu of comprehensive and à la carte services to schools asking for support in their suicide prevention.

Finally – we’d like to give a massive thank you to Seattle Children’s Partnership Access Line for partnering with us to deliver The FAST Skills Workshop series!

The Forefront training team has been hard at work this year to deliver a diverse set of programming. We are growing our network of resource partners across the Pacific Northwest and are grateful to every organization and company that reached out to have our team deliver personalized trainings to them. We’ve delivered Forefront’s message to thousands of participants both in person and virtually.

Thank you to our key partners at:

• Lambert House
• Open Window School
• UW Athletics (specifically the UW football coaching staff)
• Mental Health Matters of Washington and their peer mental health navigators’ program
• College Success Foundation
• Seattle City Attorney’s office
• Hamlin Robinson School
• UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity- Academic Counseling
• Developmental Disabilities Administration
• Residence Life programs at:
  • UW Bothell
  • Lewis-Clark State College

We provided customized suicide prevention trainings for:

• British Petroleum Cherry Point
• Nate Chute Foundation
• WA State Department of Corrections

Forefront staff also presented at the following conferences:

• Safe Crossings’ Northwest Conference on Childhood Grief
• Washington State Counselors Association annual conference
• MENTOR Washington 2023 Conference
• Seattle Neighborhood Group: Impact Youth Conference
• School’s Out WA Bridge Conference

Congratulations to Jorge Torres, for being awarded School Counselor of the Year, 2023 by the Washington School Counselor Association!

Jorge is a school counselor at Foster High School in the Tukwila School District, and he’s been an active member of Foster’s  Forefront in the Schools Program (FIS) since 2017, demonstrating leadership, collaboration and innovation. In addition to receiving the state award this year, he has been named as one of five finalists for the National Association of School Counselors’ 2024 Counselor of the Year.

We’re incredibly grateful for Jorge’s partnership: in addition to his work as a school counselor, Jorge devoted many hours of his time to translating our LEARN® Suicide Prevention Training for Spanish-speaking Parents/Caregivers, including creating an online module our schools can offer to their parent communites. This Spanish-language curriculum has been widely adopted by school communities in our programs, and we couldn’t have developed it without him.

We are huge fans of Jorge and we’re excited that his outstanding work supporting and improving youth mental health has been recognized by this award!

Lambert House is a Seattle-based organization that has served LGBTQ+ youth in Washington for over 40 years. They provide support groups, education, and leadership opportunities in a safe, supportive environment.

LGBTQ+ youth are at a higher risk of suicide than their peers, so we were thrilled when Lambert House approached us in early 2021, to ask if we would be interested in working with them to develop a suicide prevention training program for their organization.

The core of our suicide prevention trainings is our Forefront Suicide Prevention LEARN® gatekeeper training. We knew we needed to address the specific concerns and questions that those working with LGBTQ+ youth would have regarding this vulnerable population, so we worked with Lambert House program staff to develop a culturally appropriate, customized curriculum for their community and the population they serve. We also helped develop custom materials, such as a decision tree that Lambert House volunteers use when a youth is considering suicide.

“As an LGBTQ+ youth center, suicide is an unfortunately important and necessary topic to train our staff and volunteers on. We have been partnering with organizations expert in this topic for decades. We began partnering with Forefront because the LEARN model gave us a much more consistent training curriculum, the staff at Forefront care deeply about our community like we do, and the Forefront was willing to put in a lot of time and effort to ensure the presentation was customized to our needs highlighting specific risk and protective factors, and statistics relating to the LGBTQ+ youth community. Our volunteers have consistently expressed increased confidence and comfort with this difficult topic.”

–Brandon Knox, Lambert House Program Director

Since the initial training in 2021, we’ve worked with Lambert House to deliver this program to their staff and volunteers twice a year. Feedback has been uniformly positive–here are some of the things our training participants have had to say:

• “This was really difficult at points but I really appreciate how you handled the discussion with care & empathy.”
• “Learning how to bring up the topic of concern about suicide was very helpful. starting the conversation is the hardest part but now I feel I know how to start the conversation.”
• “Thank you so much. I wish more folks had access to this training! It was so useful and I plan to use the LEARN method personally and occupationally with others.”
• “I really enjoyed the presentation and the practical methods it provided for discussing this difficult topic. The trainer was super responsive to the group’s questions and an overall fabulous facilitator.”

“Hearing feedback like this is both gratifying and humbling” says Charlene Ray (pictured), who leads our trainings for Lambert House. “It is an honor to be able to facilitate the LEARN training for the volunteers at Lambert House. They are consistently a group of people who are passionate about supporting a community that is at higher risk for suicide. They understand the importance of connection and validation as a protective factor. I always leave inspired from engaging with Lambert House.”

If you’d like to talk to us about how we can support your suicide prevention programming, please let us know.

Check out the Lambert House calendar here, and learn about their Monster Masquerade Ball on October 28.