Volunteer

Join us!

Suicide prevention is a community effort.  There are plenty of ways to help prevent suicide in San Diego County. Whether it's joining and participating in the SPC, hosting a training, or giving your time, your help is important and appreciated!

Suicide Prevention Council Volunteer Opportunities:

• Attend monthly SPC meetings to stay informed about what's happening in suicide prevention efforts throughout the County

• Participate in an SPC Subcommittee:
  • Help Line Collaborative
  • Media Subcommittee
  • School Collaborative
  • Higher Education Commitee
  • Assessment and Evaluation Committee
  • Training and Education Subcommittee

• Schedule a QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention
• Assist at upcoming events, such as Responsible Reporting on Suicide
• Volunteer in the office, to help with events, meetings mailings and material preparations
• To volunteer with the San Diego County Suicide Prevention Council, contact Elizabeth Vaughan at evaughan@sdchip.org

Volunteer Opportunities with SPC Partners

• California Alliance for Healthy Minds (CAHM):
  • A list of volunteer opportunities can be found on the CAHM Website Volunteer Page:http://cahmsd.org/forum-info/volunteers/
  • Website: http://cahmsd.org/
  • Contact Information: Anne Hansen, Registrar/volunteer coordinator, registrar@cahmsd.org

• Survivors of Suicide Loss
  • Volunteer Opportunities Include:
    • Computer work - Transcribing articles/ documents; finding pertinent articles and information for the quarterly SOSL newsletter, etc.  (Comfortable  with Excel)
    • Experienced webmaster to mentor SOSL webmaster  (Webmaster experience)
    • Marketing - creating fliers; emails, etc.  (Familiar with Constant Contact and Microsoft Office Publisher)
    • Speaking (Survivor of suicide loss, more than one year post loss. Comfortable with sharing personal experience.)
  • Website: www.soslsd.org
  • Contact Information: info@soslsd.org / 619-482-0297

• NAMI San Diego (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
  • NAMI San Diego has several volunteer opportunities including: volunteering for the Annual San Diego County NAMI Walk, speaking engagements for the In-Our-Own-Voice Program, clerical work at the main office, booth outreach for the Friends in the Lobby Program and other health fairs and resource events. Requested skills include: Enthusiasm and the willingness to talk openly about mental health awareness. NAMI San Diego has a monthly volunteer orientation on the first Monday at 11am at the NAMI San Diego office (4480 30^th Street San Diego CA 92116). The one hour orientation is the first step to volunteering with NAMI San Diego, see you there!
  • Website: www.namisandiego.org
  • Contact Information - Annie Dunlop, Development & Events Manager, anniedunlop@namisd.org, ph: 619-584-5574

• International Bipolar Foundation
  • Volunteer Opportunities:  Our need for volunteers varies from month to month. Whether we find a match for your offer right away or not, we appreciate your offer and will keep you in mind. If you can spare just a couple of hours a week or can make a larger commitment, we invite you to join our volunteer network. You can use your current skills and learn new ones, make new friends, and help other families. We know, from our own experience, that it can be deeply satisfying and empowering to turn one's hard-won experience into valuable and compassionate assistance, advice and advocacy.  We host a variety of events including our annual gala and Mental Health Fair, as well as attend local conferences. We are always happy to have volunteers help us by doing work at home, our office, or representing IBPF at the event. In addition, International Bipolar Foundation has 5 committees, Development, Finance, Governance, Programs/Education, & Marketing, who are always looking for volunteers to join. For more information, please contact areitzin@internationalbipolarfoundation.org or (858) 764-2406.
  • Contact Information : Ashley Reitzin; Program Manager  areitzin@internationalbipolarfoundation.org/ (858) 764-2496
  • Website: www.InternationalBipolarFoundation.org

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) - San Diego Chapter
  • Volunteer Opportunities Include
    • Education - Become familiar with AFSP's high school and college programs and facilitate workshops for schools, parent groups, and civic organization
    • Advocacy - Promote local, state, and federal policies and programs that prevent suicide and disseminate this information in the community
    • Outreach - Host an AFSP San Diego info booth at local events throughout San Diego County; Public speaking opportunities available
    • Support - Help create, organize, and host remembrance activities to support survivors of suicide
    • Event Planning/Fundraising - Plan community events, such as the annual Out of the DarknessCommunity Walk (www.outofthedarkness.org) or International Survivors of Suicide Day (www.afsp.org/survivorday)
  • AFSP San Diego hosts a meeting for new and current volunteers on the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 6-7pm at The Center in Hillcrest (3909 Centre St., San Diego, CA 92103
  • Website: www.afsp.org/sandiego
  • Contact Information: sandiego@afsp.org / 760-459-9959