The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide

Mission and Vision

KRISTIN RITA STROUSE FOUNDATION PRESENTS
THE YELLOW DRESS GOLF CLASSIC
DINNER AND LIVE AUCTION
June 16, 2008

FACTS:

Every 18 minutes a life is lost to suicide in the U.S.
Every minute another attempt is made
30,000 Americans die from suicide every year
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death, ages 15 to 24, in the U.S.
90% of those who die, have a diagnosable and treatable psychiatric disorder

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation was established by Douglas and Sharon Strouse in response to the death of their daughter Kristin, on October 11, 2001. Kristin was a freshman at Parsons School of Design in New York City when she ended her own life.

Mission Statement
The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs that increase awareness of Mental Health through education and the arts. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation (KRSF) is a non-profit project of the National Heritage Foundation. KRSF supports programs that provide:

Methods of prevention
Recognition of warning signs
Understanding of associated mental health issues
Resources for universities and high schools
Survivor programs that reach out and aid in the healing process

Programs
The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is proud to support:

1. Johns Hopkins Medicine - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences – Adolescent Depression Awareness Program. (ADAP) The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is providing funds for the development of a school based curriculum to educate high school students, teachers, and parents about teenage depression. The primary goal of the program is to develop a nationally available curriculum for health teachers to incorporate into their health classes.

Johns Hopkins Medicine – Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences - Depression Awareness Program for College Campuses.
(CDAP) The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is providing funding for the
development of a core-curriculum program on depression that will be taught
to students and faculty in the college setting. Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Maryland Baltimore County and Westchester Community College, New York are participating in the planning of a menu of effective interventions that can be offered to increase knowledge, awareness and treatment of depression.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences: The 21st Annual Mood Disorders Research/ Education Symposium April 2007.

2. Rita Project Rita (Sanskrit for truth) is a global movement to stop suicide and to celebrate life. Rita Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization devoted to using the arts to help survivors of suicide connect with the power of creation, and in doing so, foster transformation. Rita Project fulfills its mission through studio-based art therapy services, preventive workshops, exhibitions and dissemination. Services are designed to foster healing, contribute to suicide prevention education, and raise public awareness of the importance of the arts to mental health.

Rita Project targets the population of “survivors of suicide,” by which they include both individuals who have survived the loss of a loved one to suicide and those who have survived suicide attempts. The program breaks new ground as the first time art therapy has been applied in a non-clinical studio setting for this population. The program also represents the first time that these two groups of survivors have been targeted for the same group with the goal of promoting dialogue, understanding, and compassion.

3. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) College film Project: The Truth About Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College. This 27 minute film presents a realistic and recognizable picture of depression in college age youth, that encourages college students suffering from depression and related psychiatric disorders to seek treatment or help a friend to seek treatment. It helps students recognize depression as a serious illness, which left untreated can lead to suicide. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation helped to fund the development of this film and related educational materials. The film premiered in New York City in May 2003. To date, close to 10,000 copies of the film have been distributed nationwide.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s College Screening Project – A web- based outreach project at Emory University, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Graduate Students, The University of Pittsburg – Medical Students and Vanderbilt University – Residents and Attending Physicians.

4. The Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association (DRADA) – The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is a proud sponsor of the book - “Most Commonly Asked Questions About Teenage Depression & Bipolar Illness” by Sallie Mink, R.N.

5. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation was a proud sponsor of the Lecture by Dr. Lisa Machoian, Author of “The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression,” at Notre Dame Preparatory, March 2006.

6. The Kristin Rita Strouse Professional Development Award - Five Educational Scholarships for the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. (ASSIST) ASSIST is an internationally recognized gatekeeper suicide prevention program, sponsored by Pastoral Counseling Services of Maryland.

7. The Rita Creative Development Award. Rita (Sanskrit for truth). This award is given annually, to an 11th grade student at Notre Dame Preparatory in support of advanced training at a Pre-College Summer Program. The award is based on talent, a submitted essay and need. 2002 / Jennifer Guido, 2003 / Nichole Drummond, 2004 / Lindsay Marsh, 2005 / Tessa Burke, 2006 / Sarah Miller, 2007/ Kathryn Regan.

Depression and Mental Health Month - May 2008
National Suicide Awareness Week - May 2008
National Depression Screening Day (NDSD) - October 2008