Los Angeles County HIV Mental Health Task Force

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Hello,

My name is Theresa Ly and I am with the California Suicide Prevention Marketing Campaign called Know the Signs. Know the Signs is administered by the California Mental Health Services Authority (www.calmhsa.org), an organization of county governments working to improve mental health outcomes for individuals, families and communities. It is funded by the Mental Health Services Act, otherwise known as Proposition 63. The Know the Signs Campaign was started in the Fall of 2011 and has the goal of educating helpers within California to understand the warning signs of suicide, learn how about talk about suicide with someone who may be suicidal, and refer people to local resources and crisis support services for help. You can find out more about the Know the Signs Campaign at our website, www.suicideispreventable.org.

The Know the Signs Campaign will soon be releasing an exciting new mobile application made specifically for individuals who are at-risk for suicide. The mobile app, called MY3, was made in partnership with the Know the Signs Campaign, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org) and the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Department. It is a highly customizable mobile app that allows users to a) select individuals they would want to speak to when they are feeling suicidal, b) define their own safety plan, and c) select resources that work for them. See attached MY3 Overview document for more information about these features.

The Know the Signs Campaign would like to inform as many mental health care providers and other care providers that interact with individuals who may be suicidal about MY3, with the hopes that these care providers would be able to encourage their patients and clients to download the app and keep it as a tool to stay safe. Ideally, we would encourage care providers to help the patient or client to set up MY3, especially with identifying close networks and a safety plan, to ensure that the steps are feasible and realistic.

Please spread the word about MY3 to your personal and professional networks, particularly mental health care providers, other care providers and community gatekeepers. We expect MY3 to be available in the Apple and GooglePlay app stores in October. Please email me at tly@edc.org or call me at 916.494.9616 to get on a distribution list that will a) inform you when MY3 is available for download and b) inform you of an official webinar that will introduce MY3 and describe its features.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask – you can reach me at tly@edc.org or call me at 916.494.9616.

Sincerely,