Remarks by
A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed.
Director

Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Campus Suicide Prevention Grantee:
Technical Assistance Meeting

Closing Plenary

Introduction to the Anti-Stigma Campaign and Leadership for Suicide Prevention

January 19, 2007
Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you for that introduction, Richard.

At the closing of a session like this, it is customary to recognize the VIPs who attended this event. And so I will. Each of you—the Campus Suicide Prevention grantees…who have come here to this technical assistance meeting to focus on the prevention of suicide. Each of you is a Very Important Person. You are important because you understand that suicide is a public heath crisis that we must do something about…that it’s not a “tragic accident”…that it can’t be a “silent epidemic” any longer.

However, there is not a common public awareness of this fact. I’m sure most of you in this room would agree with me that this is one of the greatest challenges we face and deal with on a daily basis.

If you ask someone on the street about cancer… you will likely achieve an immediate agreement that it is a disease that must be cured. However, if you ask that same person about suicide—the reaction will be very different. The reality is that suicide is a public health crisis that is still greatly misunderstood and not accepted by the general public as something that we can prevent... and we must change that perception.

Thomas Joiner is a scientist, researcher and the Bright-Burton Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is acutely aware of this fact. Thomas Joiner is also a survivor… his own father committed suicide when Dr. Joiner was a teenager. In his recent book, Why People Die By Suicide¹ , he speaks eloquently about this lack of awareness and its consequences. He tells about being at his sons’ soccer game… There were five or so full-field games going on— approximately 150 people out on the fields. Off in the distance, lightning struck, and the field administrators decided to cancel the games. There was some grumbling about this decision of course, but everyone understood the rationale—lightning can be lethal.

Dr. Joiner raises the issue… just how lethal is lightning? In other words, how many people die from lightening strikes? In fact, from 1980 to 1995, there were approximately 80 deaths per year from lightning strikes in the United States. Yet, we see an estimated 1,100 suicides occur among college students each year.

So why do people race to prevent death by lightning strike but not race in the same way to prevent death by suicide? Dr. Joiner states that it’s fairly easy to understand how and why people die when they’re struck by lightning… and prevention is even more straightforward—get out from under the weather.

However, it is not easy for people to understand how and why people die by suicide and prevention is not clear-cut at all. His point is that to make the prevention of suicide more like the prevention of lightning strikes, people need a clearer understanding of how and why people die by suicide.

On Wednesday, you heard Senator Gordon Smith’s tragic, yet all too familiar story about his son, Garrett. Even though many of you hear similar stories every day…or have survived these experiences in your own lives…there is still a great need to educate the public about suicide and its prevention. The facts about suicide…and suicide prevention… must be shared!

Last month, to honor our commitment to elevate suicide prevention to a national priority… and to help more people gain a better understanding that will help reduce the stigma against mental health problems, SAMHSA launched a national awareness public service advertising (PSA) campaign. Created in partnership with the Ad Council, the campaign, “What a Difference a Friend Makes,” is designed to decrease the negative attitudes that surround mental illness and encourage young adults to support their friends who are living with mental health problems. For young adults, friends play a key role in shaping perceptions about mental illnesses and recovery. When we break down stigma by broadening the acceptance of these issues at this critical point, individuals have a much greater chance of recovery from mental health problems.

This campaign attempts to reach stigma where it starts – at that initial contact, early in life, when a young person discloses to a friend or a family member that they have a mental health problem. At that key point, 1 of 2 things can happen – the friend can turn away from that young person, or they can be accepting and supportive. And as our campaign theme states – What a difference a friend can make in the path of a young person’s life.

The campaign includes television and radio PSAs, print advertising, outdoor ads, web and internet ads, a Campaign brochure, fact sheet, research report, site kits, and many other materials. I have brought copies of the PSA’s for your viewing.

{Play all PSAs}

The PSAs are available on the SAMHSA web site. They are in the public domain, and we encourage you to use them. We’re making a tremendous effort to reach as many Americans as possible, to improve the lives and opportunities for healing and recovery for the nearly 25 million Americans with mental illnesses. The web site for the anti-stigma campaign is www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov.

The anti-stigma campaign is an example of a comprehensive effort, through the use of social marketing strategies, research, extensive collaboration with other federal agencies, State mental health agencies, mental health provider organizations, consumer and family groups, and grassroots outreach. Because the stronger and broader the collaboration on suicide prevention, the greater the chance for the success of this urgent public health initiative. Suicide and suicide behaviors can be reduced…as the general public gains more understanding about the extent to which suicide is a problem…about the ways that it can be prevented…and about the roles individuals and groups play in prevention efforts.

Yes, collaboration is the life blood of transforming the mental health system. But suicide prevention, a key element of transformation, won’t happen without transformational leadership.

I ascribe to Robert Greenleaf’s servant leadership model—a practical philosophy built around the concept that true leaders are those who lead by serving others. A deep desire to serve others lies at the heart of my approach to leadership.

You are leaders. You can empower others to become leaders. But you must identify and articulate your own leadership philosophy before you can guide and encourage others to exercise their potential for leadership. Ask yourself, “What are the qualities of leadership that resonate with who I am?” Then begin to act on these qualities. Take action to achieve your mission and to take care of those you seek to lead.

Anyone can exercise the principles of leadership. You don’t necessarily have to be in a position of authority to be a leader.

A transformational leader—one who is not satisfied with change around the edges—must be courageous enough to take risks and be resilient and resolute in pursuing their vision.

Having a VISION is an essential quality of a Transformational Leader. A vision provides a purpose to focus on a shared image for the future.

Another essential quality of a Transformational Leader is a COMMITMENT TO SOMETHING BIGGER THAN ONE’S SELF. My own belief is that true leadership emerges from a primary motivation to serve a higher purpose…a purpose of helping others find meaning in their lives…helping them find hope and connection to family and community.

Transformational Leaders are ACTION ORIENTED. Transformational leaders make things happen and motivate others to do so.

A Transformational Leader must be able to ENGAGE OTHER PEOPLE WHO CAN MOVE SYSTEMS. Leaders draw on the skills of many different people.

Transformational Leaders are committed to CONTINUOUS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. Leaders read relevant literature, attend conferences, and talk to colleagues. A Transformational Leader must have a strong belief in the POWER OF ONE. Now what do I mean by this? Let me tell you a story that beautifully illustrates the POWER OF ONE.

John Woolman was an American Quaker who lived in the 1700s, when many Quakers were wealthy slave owners. He dedicated his adult life to eliminating slavery among his people.

Woolman spent more than 20 years visiting Quakers along the East Coast. He pursued his mission through the art of gentle persuasion. He did not criticize people, nor did he make them angry. He merely asked questions like, “What does it mean to be a moral person? What does it mean to own a slave?” Driven by his vision, he persisted, visiting farm after farm.

By 1770, a century before the Civil War, not one Quaker owned a slave. The Quakers were the first religious group to denounce and renounce slavery. This story was told by Robert Greenleaf in Robert E. Quinn’s book Deep Change. Greenleaf further commented:

“One wonders what would have been the result if there had been fifty John Woolmans or even five, traveling the length and breadth of the Colonies in the 18th century persuading people, one by one, with gentle non-judgmental argument that a wrong should be righted by individual voluntary action. Perhaps we would not have had the war with its 600,000 casualties…we know now, in the perspective of history that just a slight alleviation of the tension in the 1850s might have avoided the war. A few John Woolmans, just a few, might have made the difference.”

The Power of One is so important. We are counting on each and every one of you to go back and make the difference. You have the opportunity to make a dramatic impact on the systems that we have today. When you return to your communities and share your knowledge, thousands of others can benefit. But to do so, you must be prepared to lead.

I believe in the power of one… I believe in the Senator Gordon Smiths who can take a great personal loss and turn it into an act that benefits an entire nation… and I believe in each one of you.

Let me ask you: how many of you have had people ask you why you chose this particular field? How many times have people said to you— “Oh, isn’t this work too depressing and discouraging?”

I say, there is nothing discouraging about preventing the loss of even one more life to suicide.

Joan Holmes, the Executive Director of The Hunger Project said: We often think of heroes as extraordinary people with powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary human beings. But when we really look, we discover that heroes are ordinary men and women who dare to see and meet the call of a possibility greater than themselves - people who despite their doubts and fears commit themselves to action; people who go beyond their limits in what they think is possible. Ordinary people - daring to be heroes - are the greatest expression of human potential.

Thank you for daring to take this on…for pushing beyond what may seem possible to meet the call for better suicide prevention strategies. Thank you for planning new pathways to transformation with yourselves as leaders. Thank you for committing yourselves to action to save lives on our campuses across this nation. Thank you for being a hero.

¹ Joiner, Thomas. Why People Die By Suicide. Harvard University Press. 2005