SAMHSA In Brief
SAMHSA Prevention Day: February 6, 2012
Join us February 6, 2012, for SAMHSA's Prevention Day at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at the National Harbor, MD. Through collective efforts by its wealth of experts and behavioral health professionals, SAMHSA has planned an invigorating and informative program for all attendees.
Prevention Day will host exciting exhibits by the Drug Enforcement Administration and of the Stop Act, as well as workshops on integrating behavioral health and health reform as a community coalition, strategies on how to maintain a coalition on a reduced budget, and creative ways to network and collaborate.
Prevention Day reflects the overarching goal of SAMHSA's eight Strategic Initiatives, which guide the Agency's efforts to partner people with mental and substance use disorders and their families to build strong communities; prevent, treat, and support recovery from behavioral health problems; and promote better health for all Americans.
For more information, please visit: http://forum.cadca.org.
National Suicide Prevention Line
Through its 150 crisis centers, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provided help and hope to its 3 millionth caller in October. The SAMHSA-sponsored Lifeline, launched in 2005, answers more than 2,200 calls a day using advanced technology that links callers to a trained counselor to provide confidential crisis support.
"Every day, in hundreds of communities across this country, the Lifeline and its network of crisis centers save lives — sometimes quietly, sometimes dramatically," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. "But every day they prove what we know to be true: Suicide is preventable and help is always available."
About one in five Lifeline callers use the Veterans Crisis Line, a specialized call center run by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans, service members, and concerned family members. This SAMHSA-VA partnership has answered more than 450,000 calls, with more than 16,000 rescues.
To access services, call 1-800-273-TALK/8255.
2011 Voice Awards
On August 24, SAMHSA paid tribute to Ron Barber, District Director for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a survivor of the January 8 Tucson, AZ, shooting, with a Special Recognition Award at the 2011 Voice Awards. Tucson Mayor Robert E. Walkup and his wife Beth were honored along with Barber for promoting civility and public understanding of mental health issues, as well as ongoing efforts to help the nation heal from the shooting.
The awards event — hosted by Peter Krause, star of NBC's "Parenthood" — recognized individuals, community leaders in recovery for mental and substance use disorders, and entertainment industry productions. It convened entertainment industry and behavioral health community representatives for an evening of education and awareness about societal contributions by people with behavioral health problems. Event sponsor SAMHSA was represented by Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Director H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.
Million Hearts Campaign
Heart disease causes one in three deaths in the United States; overall, Americans suffer more than 2 million heart attacks and strokes yearly. To reduce these threats, SAMHSA is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other prominent agencies in the Million Hearts campaign. The initiative aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.
As part of its commitment to Million Hearts, SAMHSA pledged to align available resources to support improved outreach to and comprehensive health care for people with mental health and substance use disorders, who may be at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
For more information on Million Hearts, visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.