- This event has passed.
Erie’s 9th Annual Suicide Prevention Conference
September 24 @ 8:15 am - 4:00 pm
Join us for our annual conference Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 in Erie, PA hosted by the Erie County Suicide Prevention Advisory Board and UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor. Our theme this year is “Creating a Safer Community through Collaboration and Creativity.” We are looking forward to coming together with professionals, students, family members, and community members to learn about suicide prevention and intervention and to grow our networks within our community to work towards our common goal of zero suicide in the Erie community.
To register: https://cce.upmc.com/9th-annual-suicide-prevention-conference#group-tabs-node-course-default5
Our keynote speaker this year is Marisa Vicere. As a strong believer in the empowerment of young people, Marisa founded and became president of the Jana Marie Foundation in 2012. The experience of losing her sister, Jana Vicere, to suicide in 2011 cemented her commitment to helping young people navigate through tough transitional years and educating parents and community members about mental and emotional health. Under her leadership, Jana Marie Foundation is named a top 100 organization by Pennsylvania Business Central.
Marisa is a certified instructor in Mental Health First Aid (Youth and Adult Modules), teen Mental Health First Aid, Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM), and Question Persuade Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training. In addition, Marisa completed her 200-hour Wellness, SEL, and Yoga Teacher Certification and Youth Resilience Coach Certification. Most recently, Marisa has become a trained facilitator for Tuning into Teens and looks forward to bringing this program to Central PA.
Marisa serves as chairperson for the Centre County Suicide Prevention Taskforce and board member of Centre County Council for Human Services and Prevent Suicide PA. In her free time, Marisa loves to hike and spend time with her family.
To learn more about Jana Marie Foundation, please visit: https://janamariefoundation.org.
Please note: there are scholarships available for any individual who would benefit from attending but may not have the means to do so. Please reach out to Sharon Sandberg at sandbergs@upmc.edu to inquire about scholarship opportunities.
Learning Objectives
1. Develop an understanding of the areas that may affect individuals’ statistical likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation and attempts.
2. Explore and develop strategies to create protective environments including reduction of access to lethal means, creating healthy organizations through policy and culture, and reduction of substance use.
3. Develop strategies to improve access to and delivery of mental health and suicide care.
4. Explore and develop strategies to promote healthy connections through promotion of healthy peer norms and engagement in shared creative activities.
5. Connect with others to explore and develop strategies to teach coping and problem-solving skills through collaboration with supports and through creative connections and outlets such as visual arts, music, written word, etc.
6. Explore and develop strategies to lessen harm and prevent future risk through intervention after a suicide, building collaborative relationships, and utilizing creative outlets for coping with loss and personal suicide attempt experiences.
