SBH Goes to Chase City Elementary

On September 23, 2021, Southside Behavioral Health in partnership with Southside Wellness Coalition joined Chase City Elementary at the after-school FeedMore market and distributed 75 Lock and Talk Boxes for Suicide Prevention Month. Lock and Talk training educates community members about the signs of suicide risk and a no-cost way to limit access to lethal means for a person in crisis. All boxes were distributed to staff and first arriving participants at the event after discussing the Lock and Talk initiative.

Southside Behavioral Health continues working to grow the trauma-informed care network in the Southside area, focusing on the public school system as a foundation for our work. We continue to utilize prevention-based training to educate our communities, while also integrating clinicians into the school system to provide on-site services to individuals in need of mental health support.

The ongoing work in our prevention department through events, such as Lock and Talk, help to increase awareness of Suicide Prevention throughout the Southside area. (Request your own Lock Box at https://southsidebh.org/lock-it-up/.) Additionally, the integration of therapists in the school setting is the beginning of an improved continuum of care to provide safe outlets to support mental health needs in our communities.