SAMHSA Suicide Prevention: no gay, lesbian, bi or transgender

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From David Byrom, Ph.D., President
The National Coalition of Mental Health
Professionals and Consumers, Inc.

Hello colleagues and friends,

Recently, I was asked to help present a workshop on suicide prevention among GLBT individuals, at the third in a series of five regional conferences on suicide prevention in the U.S. This particular conference covers Public Health Regions 9 and 10 (basically, the entire west coast). Following is a statement my co-presenters and I have prepared outlining recent chilling events surrounding our workshop. One interesting thing to note ? the two previous conferences, one in New Orleans and the other in Denver, contained workshops very similar to ours and were not a problem. The difference? Both were held PRIOR to the last election.

We give permission to forward this to whoever you believe needs to read it:

Please distribute as widely as possible:

Statement of Concern and Protest

Government funders within the Bush Administration at SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) notified the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) that SAMHSA Administrator, Charles Curie, would not be allowed to attend a SPRC regional conference on suicide prevention if conference organizers went forward with a workshop title that included the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. The conference is scheduled to take place in Portland, Oregon, February 28-March 2. The original title of the workshop was "Suicide Prevention Among Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender Individuals."

On January 31, Lloyd Potter, SPRC Center Director, contacted workshop presenters Ron Bloodworth, Joyce Liljeholm and Reid Vanderburgh and requested that we come up with alternative wording for the workshop so that the words "gay","lesbian","bisexual", or "transgender" did not appear in the workshop title or descriptor.

We worked with SPRC to create alternative wording so that the workshop could continue to be offered but we expressed deep concern about government intrusion to remove any reference to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the workshop title and descriptor. After agreeing to the title "suicide Prevention in Vulnerable Populations", we were told that the new title would be acceptable to SAMHSA and that we could use the term "sexual orientation" in the workshop descriptor but that the term "gender identity" would "not fly with SAMHSA."

We are still planning to offer the workshop as originally planned even though the workshop title and descriptor had to be changed but we will not be quiet about the heavy handed efforts of SAMSHA to render gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender people invisible. The action of our government in this regard is the very reason a workshop on suicide prevention with gay,lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender individuals is needed. How ironic! The discriminatory and intimidating actions of SAMHSA and the Bush administration should not go unchallenged and should be of concern to all Americans.

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[Kathy Sanchéz] Tracked down this letter as is posted on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s website.

Here’s the info on the presentation to be held at the end of the month. You can download the whole conference agenda, but it’s in pdf form and kind of large. But it has a great look at all of the presentations they’ll be doing on different populations in the country (rural youth, native populations, etc.) To be fair to Dr. Byrom, the presentation title “Suicide Prevention in Vulnerable Populations” is terribly vague and you have to read the description to get one hint that it’s about the GLBT community (although using sexual orientation lumps LGB and T communities inappropriately). So, it could be one part watering down from up above, and one part overreaction? Worth looking into, though.

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Suicide Prevention in Vulnerable Populations
Ron Bloodworth, MA, LPC, Joyce Liljeholm, MEd, Reid Vanderburgh, MA
This session will examine the current level of knowledge about suicidal behavior and the relationship to sexual orientation. This session will explore the biopsychosocial factors that need to be addressed to prevent suicide in this vulnerable population, and share some innovative prevention strategies, including an overview of the activities of the Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition, and the use of holistic psychotherapy with at-risk individuals. Track B

This communication comes in response to an email that was originally sent by Ronald Bloodworth and his colleagues Joyce Liljeholm and Reid Vanderburgh on Friday, February 11th with the subject of "Who's next?" or "SAMHSA Censorship of GLBT Suicide Prevention workshop." I ask that you distribute this to anyone who may have received that earlier email.

In the email Mr. Bloodworth and his colleagues stated that “Government funders within the Bush Administration at SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) notified the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) that SAMHSA Administrator, Charles Curie, would not be allowed to attend a SPRC regional conference on suicide prevention if conference organizers went forward with a workshop title that included the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. This statement is untrue, I not did say this to Mr. Bloodworth and no one from SAMHSA has ever said this to me. After speaking with Mr. Bloodworth about this misstatement it is clear that we did not communicate effectively, and from my perspective, the statement misrepresented our earlier conversation. I have understood and have said to Mr. Bloodworth and to others that Mr. Curie was planning to participate in the conference if he was able to due to his health. I have also understood and said that Mr. Curie is very supportive of the objectives of the conference and that the Agency he leads supports and embodies inclusiveness. I will be personally apologizing to Mr. Curie for any harm or hurt this incident may have caused him, as these statements are inconsistent with whom I know him to be and inconsistent with the deep personal commitment he brings to public service.

I did call Mr. Bloodworth and other workshop presenters at the end of January after SAMHSA staff had provided feedback on the titles and descriptions of several workshops. In the case of Mr. Bloodworth and his colleagues, I did convey that SAMHSA consistently uses the term sexual orientation when referring to GLTB issues. I told Mr. Bloodworth that I would like to reword his workshop title and description to be consistent with terminology they use. Given that SAMHSA is supporting the conference completely, I felt this was reasonable and respectful. Mr. Bloodworth and his co-presenters did agree to make the suggested changes in the title and description. In all of my conversations with Mr. Bloodworth, I have emphasized SPRC’s and SAMHSA's commitment to ensuring the workshop was delivered as the presenters intended. There has never been a question about whether or not the workshop would be held.

As a Federally funded resource center, my efforts have been to ensure SPRC actions are implemented in a fashion consistent with achieving our goals and objectives and ensuring that our efforts are not exclusionary. I am VERY clear that SPRC and SAMHSA are committed to inclusion.

I am saddened and dismayed by the negative and attacking messages that some people have sent to elected and appointed officials in response to the email of Mr. Bloodworth and his colleagues, despite the fact that they were motivated by deep concern about suicide. None-the-less, I am heartened by the strong advocates who have countered this uncivil discourse and sending of destructive messages. We all need to work toward positive change and my hope is that you will stay positively and collaboratively engaged in suicide prevention issues and Mental Health Transformation as we move ahead together toward a country where everyone has access to effective mental health support and treatment, especially those at greatest risk. Sincerely,

Lloyd Potter lpotter@edc.org
Director, Suicide Prevention Resource Center

Please visit our website www.SPRC.org and join with us and others in efforts to prevent suicide!

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RELATED LINKS:

SAMHSA Move Against Gay References Sparks Outcry
Request to Edit Title of Talk On Gays, Suicide Stirs Ire HHS Is Being Accused of Marginalization
Federal agency balks at word 'gay'
Administration Balks At 'Gay' In Gay Suicide Conference
GLBT suicide prevention workshop barred from using word gay
Axing 'gay' from event title fuels uproar