HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2944
City of Palo Alto (ID # 2944)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Special Orders of the Day Meeting Date: 7/16/2012
July 16, 2012 Page 1 of 1
(ID # 2944)
Summary Title: Project Safety Net Community Presentation
Title: Project Safety Net Community Presentation
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Community Services
Attachments:
Attachment A - Project Safety Net Fact Sheet (DOCX)
Prepared By: Minka VanDerZwaag,
Department Head: Greg Betts, Director, Community Services
City Manager Approval: ____________________________________
James Keene, City Manager
Project Safety Net (PSN) Program Update
MISSION
Our mission is to develop and implement an effective, comprehensive, community-based mental
health plan for overall youth well-being in Palo Alto.
PLAN
The plan includes education, prevention and intervention strategies that together provide a Safety Net for youth and teens in Palo Alto, and defines our community’s teen suicide prevention
efforts.
UPDATE
In April 2012, Christina Llerena, MSW was hired as the Project Safety Net Director. In her first
three months, she has conducted an internal audit and needs assessment and met with over 70 Project Safety Net stakeholders including Steering Committee members, advisors, and members
at large including folks from the City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Unified School District, various
non-profit organizations, parents and students. She released her “41 Day Report” at the June 21,
2012 Project Safety Net Collaborative meeting.
There are three overarching themes mentioned in her report which will provide a broad base for the upcoming work of the Collaborative. The themes include: 1) Strengthen the partnership with the Palo Alto Unified School District on site and administrative levels; 2) Include, engage and
activate youth voice and leadership in PSN at multiple levels, and 3) Maintain a dual focus
working on both suicide prevention and youth well-being.
At PSN’s upcoming July 26, 2012 collaborative meeting, members will break out into work groups to create three goals and corresponding action plans for the upcoming school year. These
include continued work and some new initiatives such as: Gatekeeper (QPR) trainings for adults
and youth; a youth-driven web site that centralizes resources and events in the community,
Developmental Assets work which includes community banners, outreach to various community
groups on the Assets model, neighborhood tool kits for block parties as some examples.
Other internal organizational work includes developing a PSN communications plan and a
finance committee to create alternatives plan on how to utilize the 2M of Stanford University
Medical Center funding for Council consideration. An August 2012 retreat will examine the role
and purpose of PSN and how best to implement a messaging campaign to reach a broader
audience regarding suicide prevention and youth well-being. Both efforts will fortify past efforts and build on new communication strategies with a clearer purpose.
7/16/12