Who we areImagine Zero
What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation.Glenn Close
What we do
Imagine Zero provides an opportunity to come together to work on community-wide strategies for suicide prevention, learn about resources and projects already existing in Northern Colorado, and discuss ways we can better connect with one another.
Our BeliefCommunity and Connection
We believe that when our agencies come together to weave a true net of care and cooperation, individuals experiencing the despair that precedes suicide will not go unseen and unheard. Someone, somewhere, in our tightly woven net, will notice and know how to respond in a way that builds connection for this individual. Eventually, our community will no longer be one where we puzzle over the excessive suicide rates. Instead, we will be a community of connection, where no individual could possibly fall through our tightly woven net of safety and support.
Brief History
In 2015, a handful of individuals from UCHealth and Voices Carry Child Advocay Center began to meet as a planning committee for a community symposium on youth suicide, yet when they began to meet, they realized they did not know one another or know what programs were offered through each agency.
As they continued to meet month to month, they quickly realized what they really needed wasn’t a one time event, it was an ongoing coalition that provided the opportunity to:
- eliminate duplication of efforts and resource
- cross-pollinate ideas
- serve as a hub for suicide prevention work in Northern Colorado
from this, Imagine Zero was born. Funding was secured through the Child Fatality Review Board to build a website and hire a part time coordinator.
As Imagine Zero grew from 8 to 20 and on, the coordinator position outgrew the funding through the Child Fatality Review Board and needed to find a new home.
In early 2017 we were thrilled when Grief Support of the Rockies agreed to lead IZ and create a Coalition Coordinator position to build the coalition’s reach. Later that year Imagine Zero was contacted by the Office of Suicide Prevention and was asked to help spearhead the work of the Colorado National Collaborative (CNC) in Larimer County. When that occurred, it became clear that IZ needed a team to accomplish the work ahead. Grief Support of the Rockies and Imagine Zero immediately began to look for funding and bridged the gap until a grant came through SummitStone Health Partners and in 2018 SHP became the backbone agency for IZ for a year.
With a transition in leadership at the Alliance for Suicide Prevention (ASP), a door opened, and the timing was perfect to align the missions and efforts between ASP and IZ. In mid 2019 two organizations joined forces.
Priorities
Our coalition has prioritized communication and collaboration above all, but also recognizes the need to improve mental health outreach and education, to normalize the conversation around suicide, and to increase access to mental health care for all.
We support and actively participate in the state-wide Zero Suicide and Colorado National Collaborative (CNC) initiatives. Through partcipation in these initatives we hope to reduce the suicide rate by 20% by 2024. We believe in these models and encouraging interagency communication and collaboration as we work towards shifting the culture of Northern Colorado to a Zero Suicide region.
The Colorado-National Collaborative (CNC) is a partnership of local, state, and national scientists and public health professionals working with health and social service agencies, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, businesses, academic organizations, and Colorado residents to identify, promote and implement comprehensive state- and community-based strategies for preventing suicide. In 2018, there were 1,246 suicides among Colorado residents resulting in an age-adjusted suicide rate of 21.2 per 100,000 and is the tenth highest in the nation.
Solutions to complex public health problems, like suicide, are often most successful when government, businesses, health services, nonprofit organizations, and individual citizens coordinate their efforts. This way, partners can channel their resources to the same goals, avoid duplicating efforts, and enhance each other’s work to produce lasting change.
Larimer County is one of 6 counties in Colorado tasked to build a community-wide strategic framework of suicide prevention through the CNC, and we need your help to make it successful.
You can read more about the CNC here, and below you can find more information on how to get involved.
Guiding Principles
The structure of our group is flexible in order to fit the evolving needs of our partners and the community.
We value transparency, collaboration, and best practices.
We recognize the gift that each of our partners gives to this cause through the time spent in our meetings and the extra work that is taken on in order to provide us with quality presentations or support the group through special projects.
We also recognize the good work that is already being done by many of our partners.
We choose to highlight, support, and synergize with this work rather than duplicate or compete.