Suicide Prevention Conference
Conference Overview
The Division of Behavioral Health, in partnership with other state agencies, is excited to announce the dates of the Third Annual Suicide Prevention Conference, “We Need to Talk.” This no-cost conference is a great opportunity to elevate the conversation around suicide prevention as well as share tools and resources for suicide prevention and stigma reduction.
This two-day conference will be held on August 1st from 10:00am-5:00pm CST and August 2nd from 8:00am-12:00pm CST at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
Featuring Key Speakers
Kevin Briggs is a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant, spending many years patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge. While on patrol, he encountered numerous individuals clinging to life by a thread who had lost hope and could see no way out of their current situation. Through his compassion and ability to “Listen to Understand,” he encouraged several hundred individuals over his career not to end their lives but to begin a new chapter. These challenging but rewarding efforts earned him the nickname “Guardian of the Golden Gate.” Briggs spent three years in the United States Army, three years with the California Department of Corrections, and 23 years with the California Highway Patrol. Since retiring from the CHP, he has dedicated his life to promoting mental health awareness across the globe through Pivotal Points, an organization he founded. Whether speaking to five people in the far outback of Australia, several thousand at an international convention, or at a local community event, Briggs maps a movement as he shares his own story of mental illness. He also discusses how to communicate with someone who may be struggling in a manner that allows them to communicate without shame or fear.
Dr. C. Rosie Bauder, PhD, MPH, LPCC-S, NCC is a clinical assistant professor at The Ohio State University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Ohio and a National Certified Counselor. She works in private practice with clients around suicide, self-injury, sexual trauma, and eating disorders. Her research interests include integrated approaches to suicide research and prevention. Dr. Bauder is passionate about elevating the voices of folks with lived experience of suicide and identify as having lived experience. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for United Suicide Survivors International and as a consortium member of the Clinical Readiness Project. Previous consultations include the American Association of Suicidology, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the OSU College of Public Health.
Tom and Heather Cruz
- Tom Cruz is a Retired Army 1SG, 26 years, deployed to Kosovo in 1999 then to Iraq 05-06, 06-07, 07-08 and Jordan in 2017. I was a Solider that thought I could take care of everything on my own, had all the answers for everyone else until 3 November 2010 when that came all crashing down. That day changed my life and those around me forever, I realized I could not handle the pressure of doing everything on my own and “One” person stopped me from not being able to tell this story today. That “one” person is Tom’s wife, Heather.
- Heather personally got involved in suicide prevention for our Veterans and educating both spouses/Veterans when her husband attempted suicide/homicide in 2010. She helped get both her and her husband out of the house alive and since then, together they have attempted to save, educate, resource, and provide awareness to Veterans and their spouses across the country. They have been a part of multiple organizations, two they helped start from the foundation that deal with the social media realm, particularly Facebook. Tom now works with incarcerated Veterans and Civilians getting their lives on track after coming out of prison.
Registration – Opening in May
Check back to stay up to date on additional conference information!
Hotel Information
A block of rooms has been reserved under the “SD Department of Behavioral Health- Suicide Prevention” at the Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center at a rate of $159/night.
Please reach out to DSSPREVCONT@state.sd.us with any questions.