March 13th – 15th, 2019 | Sunriver Resort, Sunriver, Oregon
You are invited to join your colleagues in Oregon and participate in Communities Building Hope Together, a ‘best practice’ conference for people interested in suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, and advocacy. This event is specifically designed to meet the diverse interests and needs of attendees. The 2019 Oregon Suicide Prevention Conference and training will provide opportunities to build understanding, share resources and strengthen collaboration through presentations, facilitated discussions and skill building trainings and workshops.
Conference Location
Sunriver Resort | 17600 Center Drive, Sunriver, Oregon, 97707
Set in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and minutes from the bustling town of Bend, OR, Sunriver Resort is a prime Central Oregon destination. To book your room for the conference please visit www.destinationhotels.com/sunriver-resort/meetings or call 800-547-3922. Please be sure to mention the OR Suicide Prevention Conference or Lines for Life in order to receive a group rate. Rooms are on a first come, first serve basis. All reservations must be made by February 10, 2019.
Featured Speakers
Scott Poland
Dr. Scott Poland is a Professor at the College of Psychology and is Co-Director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Poland is a licensed psychologist internationally recognized as an expert on youth suicide, self-injury, school violence, school safety, threat assessment and school crisis. He has authored or co-authored five books and many chapters and articles on these subjects including, Suicide in Schools, published in 2015. He co-authored the Suicide Safer Schools Plan for the state of Texas and previously directed psychological services for a large Texas school system for 24 years. Dr. Poland is a past President of the National Association of School Psychologists, and past Prevention Division Director of the American Association of Suicidology. He has been an expert witness in numerous legal cases surrounding suicide tragedies in school communities. Dr. Poland is dedicated to prevention and has testified about the mental health needs of children before the U.S. Congress on four occasions. He is a founding member of the National Emergency Assistance Team and has personally assisted school communities following school shootings, acts of terrorism, natural disasters and numerous suicide clusters. Dr. Poland is known for his dynamic and practical presentations that include many real life experiences on the front line of crisis prevention, intervention, and postvention.
Eduardo Vega
Suicide Attempt Survivor and Social Change Activator
Eduardo Vega is CEO of Red Lever Solutions, a consulting and technical assistance collective focused on social change, social justice and health systems transformation fueled by the “lived experience” of people who have been there. An internationally recognized thought leader in mental health programs and advocacy, community empowerment, health justice and discrimination, men’s health and suicide, his innovative work continues to drive the forefront of progress for mental health, social justice and health equity worldwide. Former President and CEO of Mental Health Association of San Francisco, he also founded the groundbreaking Center for Dignity, Recovery and Empowerment and Dignity Recovery Action! International, the national Destination Dignity project and United Suicide Survivors International. Uniquely bridging his professional expertise and personal experience as a suicide attempt survivor who lived with serious mental health conditions since childhood, Vega’s work has empowered communities and fostered change worldwide.
Arnold Thomas
Arnold W Thomas is a member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Nations of the Great Basin region in the Western United States. Mr. Thomas has received National certification as the first ever Chaplain from the American Indian Tribal Faith traditions. In 2011, he was ordained as a “Holy One”. From 2004 through 2014, he conducted Traditional Ceremonies for the Salt Lake City Veteran’s Medical hospital. Arnold obtained a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1999 and is the owner of a successful motivational speaking consulting firm, White Buffalo Knife Incorporated, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Caitlin Ryan
Caitlin Ryan is the Director of the Family Acceptance Project®. Dr. Ryan is a clinical social worker who has worked on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health and mental health for nearly 40 years. She received her clinical training with children and adolescents at Smith College School for Social Work. Dr. Ryan pioneered community-based acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) services at the beginning of the epidemic; initiated the first major study to identify lesbian health needs in the early 1980s; and has worked to implement quality care for LGBT youth since the early 1990s. She started the Family Acceptance Project with Dr. Rafael Diaz in 2002 to help diverse families to decrease rejection and prevent related health risks for their LGBT children – including suicide, homelessness and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – and to promote family acceptance and positive outcomes including permanency.
Dr. Ryan and her team have been developing a wide range of research-based materials and assessment tools to help families and caregivers to support their LGBT children, including a series of short documentary films that show the journey from struggle to support of ethnically and religiously diverse families with LGBT children. Her work has been acknowledged by many groups, including the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, Division 44 that gave her the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for groundbreaking research on LGBT youth and families, and many other groups. She has served on many national advisory groups including the Committee on LGBT Health for the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences and the LGBT Suicide Prevention Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Ryan is collaborating with institutions, agencies, faith communities and advocates to develop an international movement of family acceptance to promote wellness and healthy futures for LGBT children, youth and young adults.