HFTD Public Policy Director and Yorkville Alderman, Joel Frieders Takes Action With the 2019 NSPAMP Project
For the third consecutive year, Yorkville Alderman, Joel Frieders has joined Hope For The Day in our mission of proactive suicide prevention to drive the conversation on mental health in government and community spaces with the 2019 National Suicide Prevention + Action Month Proclamation (NSPAMP) Project. Formerly the National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Proclamation Project, Joel opted to include “Action” this year, stating:
“Rather than just asking cities to be "aware" of suicide, of which I'm certain we're all well aware of suicide, I'm asking that participating municipalities actually share local or regional suicide prevention resources with their fellow elected officials, city staff, as well as their constituents.”
To ensure the proclamation makes it in front of as many municipalities as possible, each year Joel conducts outreach leading up to September (Suicide Prevention Awareness Month), asking municipalities and community groups to read the proclamation at a public meeting sometime within the month of September, and publicly recognize the importance of talking about mental health to break the silence of stigma.
This year, NSPAMP has an online form readily accessible to any community group interested in participating in the proclamation project. Outlined in the form Joel’s 2019 NSPAMP mission is simple:
I want you and your city to talk about suicide, publicly and from an official capacity, by joining Yorkville in adopting and reading the National Suicide Prevention + Action Month Proclamation. That proclamation is available to download as an editable Word doc from NSPAMP.com.
I want you to share local/regional and mental health crisis resources with your fellow elected officials, your city staff, and your residents.
As of August 23rd, 70 cities, 5 counties, and 20 states have adopted the 2019 NSPAMP.
Joel Frieders (wearing the Talk About Suicide T-shirt) and HFTD Education Director, Mike Vinopal speak with Rep. Lauren Underwood at the Kendall County Health Department in Yorkville, IL regarding suicide prevention and mental health resource availability.
In other news, Joel has officially joined the HFTD team as our Public Policy Director! We look forward to continuing to work alongside him as he monitors Illinois’ progress on mental health issues and develops national policy concerning suicide awareness, starting with Illinois.
Joel’s work is a testament to our belief that ONE person can make an impact. Join us as an Agent of Impact to take action and raise the visibility of mental health resources in your own community spaces.
If your community group is interested in participating in the 2019 NSPAMP Project fill out the online form now!
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.
Find shareable mental health resources here.