Community Task Force In response to the tragic events our community has experienced the City with its many partners has taken an active role in developing short term and long term plans to address this crisis. On Sept. 3rd the City organized a multidisciplinary group of individuals to begin the dialogue of what is being done and what needs to be done to support youth and teens and prevent further tragedies. This website is a summary of the Community Task Force representation, actions taken and emerging plan. This web page will will be updated as information becomes available.   If you have feedback, input or ideas to help support the Community Task Force please contact Rob de Geus.

Upcoming Events & Resources PTA Council - Parent Education Events Adolescent Counseling Services Palo Alto Medical Foundation Additional Resources Featured Information Makeup of Task Force Executive Committee Strategies Donate to Track Watch [ more info ] PayPal retains a small portion of the donation as a transaction fee. If you would like to avoid this, donate by check - more info.

The Objective of the Community Task Force
...is to develop an effective Teen Suicide Prevention Plan focused on Education, Prevention and Intervention. The plan is to include an integrated system of strategies that together provide a “safety net” for youth and teens.
   
Strategies
Drawing upon best practices and experiences from other communities handling similar situations the Task Force identified numerous strategies that have been known to have an effect in the education, prevention and intervention of teen suicides. The plan includes 22 strategies with both long and short-term actions.  

The strategies that need immediate focus / implementation include:

• E-2 Parent Education
• E-3 Media Education
• P-1 Youth Outreach
• P-2 Mental Health Support for Students
• P-4 Reduction of lethal means to self harm
• I-2 Screening
• I-9 Grief Counseling

The full list of strategies are assembled in the table below.  The underlined strategies link to additional information.

Education	Prevention	Intervention
E-1 Mental Health Curriculum in schools	P-1 Youth Outreach	I-1 Adopted Suicide Prevention Policies
E-2 Parent Education	P-2 Mental Health Support for Students	I-2 Screening
E-3 Media Education	P-3 Character Education & Resilience Skill Building Programs	I-3 Peer to Peer Counseling
E-4 Mental Health Training for teachers	P-4 Reduction of lethal means to self harm	I-4 Surveys/Assessment of Risk
	P-5 Crisis manual and safety plan	I-5 Gatekeeper programs
	P-6 Accessible resources on suicide prevention and depression	I-6 Affordable and expanded mental health care
	P-7 Reduction of harassment and social cruelty	I-7 Crisis Hotline
	P-8 Supportive School Environment	I-8 Support for suicide survivors and attempters
		I-9 Grief Counseling
		I-10 Communication with Physicians

Featured Websites:

• Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) website with a wealth of information on student emotional and social health. ACS provides counseling support for students and families on Palo Alto school campuses. 
• Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) website was developed by a team of doctors, social workers, educators and volunteer teenagers dedicated to providing honest, medically accurate and up-to-date resource for teens     

Community Task Force Makeup
The makeup of Community Task Force continues to evolve, but currently has representatives from:

• PAUSD
• City Manager's Office
• Youth and Teen Representatives
• City Police Dept.
• City Community Services Dept.
• PTA Council
• Kara - Grief Support & Education
• Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS)
• Youth Community Services (YCS)
• Parks and Recreation Commission
• Human Relations Commission
• Community Center for Health and Wellness
• YMCA
• Center for Sustainable Change
• Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• Palo Alto Medical Foundation
• Parent Representatives
• Palo Alto University
• Suicide Prevention Advocates
• Santa Clara County Health Dept.
• Leaders of the Faith Community
• Local Psychologist
• American Red Cross

Executive Committee
Due to the size of the task force a need quickly emerged to have a smaller executive committee and chair to make decisions and set direction.

The Executive Committee is currently made up of the following:

• PAUSD - Carol Zepecki (Co-Chair)
• City Recreation - Rob de Geus (Co Chair)
• PAUSD - Wes Cedros
• PAUSD - Linda Lenoir
• Adolescent Counseling Services - Dr. Philippe Rey
• Lucile Packard CH - Shashank V. Joshi, MD
• Kara - Cyndy Ainsworth
• Parent Representative - Pat Markevitch
• Teen Representative - Palo Alto Youth Council
• PTA Council - Terry Godfrey
• Palo Alto Medical Foundation - Becky Beacom
• City Police - Ken Dueker