Voices For Suicide Prevention

If you’ve ever wondered why some mental health programs actually stick while others fade after a single event, this conversation is for you and your organization. We’re joined by Fran Frazier of the Black Girl Rising Research Project and Rebecca Jones, Child and Adolescent Services Director with the Mental Health Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County.  This episode is centered on what it takes to s...

Autistic people are at higher risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, yet too many support systems still treat autism and mental health as separate worlds. Stepanie and Scott sit down with Lisa Morgan, an autistic adult and founder of the Autism and Suicide Prevention Work Group, and Dr. Brenna Maddox, a clinical psychologist and co-chair of the work group, to talk about what that gap looks like in real life and how to close it.<...

Overnight personality changes are every parent’s nightmare, especially when the symptoms don’t fit a neat box. Scott and Stephanie are joined by Gabriella True, President and founding Board Member of Aspire, to explain PANS and PANDAS in plain language and with hard-earned honesty.  Gabriella brings professional advocacy plus lived experience as a mom of twins impacted by PANS and as someone who has dealt with PANS...

A raw, generous conversation with iHeart radio personality and OSPF ambassador Sol Tsonis that transforms stigma into strategy and rock bottom into a starting line. Sol takes us into the moments that shaped her mental health journey—from early depression and anxiety in her teens to the deliberate, imperfect climb toward stability.

We talk about the turning points that matter: choosing a short course of medication as a ...

A dinner conversation sparked a movement. We sit down with leaders from SAVE and Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation CEO Tony Coder to share how the National Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (NSPAN) is helping small and mid-sized nonprofits combine their strengths, talents and passions!

The idea is simple but ambitious: when community groups connect and collaborate, proven strategies scale faster, funding pathways open, and lives ...

The heart of Ohio agriculture beats inside family trucks, quiet cab rides, and long rows that hold equal parts pride and pressure. We sit with first‑generation farmer Nathan Brown to trace the real story behind the harvest: the money paid up front, the machinery that breaks at the worst time, and weather that never reads the plan. Nathan shares how he scaled from 25 acres to 2,000, why conservation practices ground his work, and wh...

Raw honesty meets hard-won wisdom in a conversation with three veterans who open up about service, identity, and the messy middle of healing. We explore how the military’s structure can be both lifeline and blindfold—building discipline and leadership while making it easy to bury pain in the name of the mission. From early careers where mental health was a no-go topic to a slow cultural shift toward prevention, they lay...

What if a prison operated like a bridge back to community rather than a dead end? We sit down with Director Annette Chambers-Smith of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to explore how values, data, and everyday relationships are reshaping safety, reentry, and long-term well-being.

We start with the bigger picture: 98% of people come home. That reality shifts the mission toward healing, education, and practi...

The lifesaving work happening behind the scenes at Ohio's 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is both humbling and extraordinary. With over 592,000 contacts in just three years—approximately 700-800 daily—the service has become a critical resource for Ohioans experiencing mental health crises.

What makes this number even more remarkable is the human connection happening with each call. As 988 specialist P...

When COVID-19 forced the world into isolation, four friends with beat-up bikes started riding around their neighborhood to escape cabin fever. Those simple rides evolved into something none of them expected – a movement that's changing how people talk about mental health and suicide prevention across Ohio.

"We just started riding bikes together," explains Josh Snead of Ride for Hope. "One trip turned into two trips, tu...

Breaking down the walls of silence surrounding youth mental health takes courage, creativity, and compassion – qualities that shine brightly in our remarkable student guests this month.

Meet Ainslee Lloyd from Franklin High School and Aarush Mantro from St. Xavier High School, two passionate advocates serving on the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation's Youth Advisory Council. Their infectious energy and genuine commitm...

The workplace mental health crisis is costing American businesses billions while leaving employees struggling without adequate support. This eye-opening conversation with Teresa Lampl, CEO of the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers, and Ashley Matthews, VP of Tax for Crane Group and Maryhaven Board Member, reveals the shocking reality behind mental health access in today's workforce.

When one in f...

What does resilience look like in the face of unthinkable loss? Debbie McClintock found herself navigating that question when she lost both her husband Pete and son Logan to suicide within five months. Rather than letting grief define her story, she chose to honor how they lived.

"Pete had a really big heart," Debbie shares, describing a quiet computer programmer who loved chess and telling corny jokes. Logan, her "wanderer and drea...

According to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, the economic impact of domestic violence in Ohio is formidable, costing the state $1.2 billion annually. Yet only $20 million is allocated to combat this crisis. This discrepancy affects thousands: while nearly 10,000 Ohioans found shelter last year, over 8,000 were turned away due to capacity issues. Annually, around 188,000 experience intimate partner violence, resulting in more th...

The looming deadline for Ohio's budget, which Governor Mike DeWine must sign by June 30th at midnight, creates an urgent backdrop for critical conversations about mental health funding. As pandemic-era federal dollars disappear from community pipelines, state lawmakers face increasingly difficult decisions about which programs to fund and which to scale back.

State Representative Jodi Salvo, a Republican, and State Senator C...

Executive Director Tony Coder describes OSPF's continual evolution to save lives by saying 2025 is a year to innovate. Tony joins this episode to look at the current state of mental health and suicide prevention in Ohio and beyond, plus details the initiatives that are growing and innovating to meet the needs in every corner of our state.  Tony, Rachel, and Scott also tick through every campaign at OSPF with a high-level view ...

There are statistics and there is culture.  And sometimes, when the two mix, the outcome, to be very blunt, can be deadly.   Black children 5-12 years old have been dying by suicide at double the rate of their white counterparts.   Myriad factors contribute to that, including schools, poverty, hunger, crime, and access to healthcare.  A recent survey of Black people points to nearly two-thirds of them saying a m...

You've heard people say, 'Now that guy has lived a life!'  It's an axiom that absolutely describes Dino Tripodis.  You may know him as a former morning DJ for two decades in the Columbus radio market.   But along the way, he's also been a private investigator, a touring comedian, an author, a screenwriter, a movie producer, and now an ambassador for us at OSPF!   As Dino puts it, guys like him born in Gary, Indi...

When you bring together a Marine and construction safety executive with a youth pastor, two-time cancer survivor, and fellow construction leader, you get a dynamic conversation filled with passion and purpose.  Johel Woodliff is a Safety Director at Walsh Construction and Paul Lawson is a Construction Executive and Mental Health Advocate who join Scott and Rachel for this month's episode on the suicide crisis in the constructi...