The Ridgecliff Foundation Awards LifeAct $20,000 to Support Suicide Prevention Education

The Ridgecliff Foundation awarded a grant of $20,000 to LifeAct (formerly known as Suicide Prevention Education Alliance), headquartered in Cleveland. The grant will support the delivery of LifeAct’s educational program, “Recognizing Teen Depression and Preventing Suicide”, which has been delivered to more than 150,000 high school students in 155 high schools in Northeast Ohio.

LifeAct teaches students to be the first line of defense in preventing suicide. During the in-school sessions, taught by LifeAct’s trained, credentialed instructors, students learn how to identify individuals who may be suffering from major depression or are at risk of suicide. The lifesaving program teaches teens how to respond when a friend threatens suicide and where to go for help.

In the 2013-14 school year, 960 students came forward seeking help for themselves or a friend. Shockingly, one in five high school students seriously consider suicide, the leading cause of death for Ohio teens after accidents, and the situation is escalating.

The Ridgecliff Foundation provides grants to mental health agencies, chemical dependency agencies and organizations that have a mental health or chemical dependency component in order to fund programs which promote research, education, and patient care in the field of mental health and chemical dependency in Northeast Ohio. Emphasis is placed on programs affecting children and families, early diagnosis, prevention, dual diagnosis (co-morbidity) and minority populations.

LifeAct was founded in 1992 by Lyman H. Treadway. For information about either the high school or the middle school education programs or other services provided by LifeAct, contact Mary McKenna at (216) 464-3471 or by email.