Media

4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO  80246   303-692-2021

For Immediate Release                                                                                 Friday, April 17, 2009

Cousin of Nirvana’s Front Man Kurt Cobain and Survivor of a Golden Gate Bridge Jump Among Speakers to Address Suicide Prevention in Colorado

                DENVER—To further statewide and national efforts to impact the high suicide rate in Colorado, the second annual Bridging the Divide: Suicide Awareness and Prevention Summit will be held Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, at Regis University in Denver. The summit will coincide with the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado’s Prisms of the Heart fund-raising dinner on May 27 at the Mile High Station at 2027 W. Lower Colfax Ave. in Denver.

                Jarrod Hindman, manager of the Office of Suicide Prevention based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Colorado currently has the sixth highest suicide rate in the country, and more Coloradans die each year by suicide than in motor vehicle crashes or by homicide.

                 “The mission of this exciting and innovative conference is to bridge the gap among disciplines and resources to create a united front of stakeholders addressing this critical public health problem. Bridging the Divide will bring together the best minds and most passionate advocates for suicide prevention. Anyone interested in suicide prevention will gain knowledge and skills to implement meaningful suicide prevention activities in their community, while adding to the national dialogue and progress of addressing a significant public health issue,” Hindman said.

                 Hindman said keynote speakers will include Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commanding general of Fort Carson and renowned speaker on suicide in the aftermath of one son’s death to suicide and another’s to combat; John Kevin Hines, suicide prevention advocate and speaker who is one of 29 known people to have survived a suicidal jump from the Golden Gate Bridge; and Beverly Cobain, critically acclaimed author and cousin of former Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain.

                 Conference coordinators include Regis University, the Carson J Spencer Foundation, the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention and the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado.

                 Ten years after the Governor’s Suicide Prevention Advisory Commission released the State of Colorado Suicide Prevention and Intervention Plan, Colorado has taken great strides in advancing suicide prevention efforts throughout the state. From the creation of the Office of Suicide Prevention at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in 2000; to Colorado foundations and local, grassroots agencies taking on the task of reducing the number of suicide deaths in Colorado; to Colorado suicide prevention efforts being recognized and modeled nationally, great progress has been made. 

            “Suicide prevention is everyone’s business. There is hope and help, and it is always OK to ask for help,” said Hindman.
For more information about the conference and the fundraising dinner, and to register, visit  the conference Web site at http://www.suicidepreventionsummit.com/index.html or contact the Office of Suicide Prevention at 303-692-2539.

For media inquiries or opportunities, please contact Sally Spencer-Thomas at sspencer@regis.edu or call 303-458-4323.