Cooperating

At this stage, you have decided that partnering makes sense. You are engaging partners, but you have no formal agreements.

What This Stage Looks Like

• The partners have informal and supportive relationships.
• The partners exchange information for mutual benefit.
• You attend each other’s events.
• You have positive and intermittent interaction.
• There is little to no risk.

How to Move to the Next Stage

• Use data and information to find shared intersections and goals.
• Get clear on why you need a partner. What can’t you do alone?
• Create and sustain positive dialogue and interactions.

Examples from the Field

Have positive and intermittent interaction.

The Wyoming State Suicide Prevention Program took advantage of the integration of suicide and substance abuse prevention within the Department of Health.

R. Keith Hotle, Chronic Disease and Substance Abuse Prevention Unit Chief (0:14)

Exchange information for mutual benefit.

The Kentucky State GLS grant coordinator used her previous experience working in substance abuse prevention to act as a translator between suicide prevention and substance abuse colleagues.

Patti Clark, Grant Coordinator (0:21)

The Massachusetts State GLS grantee, housed in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is in the beginning stages of working with the Department’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services to offer cross-training opportunities for substance abuse treatment and suicide prevention providers.

Alison Brill, Community Suicide Prevention Coordinator (0:21)

Use data and information to find shared intersections and goals.

A Tribal GLS Grant in Alaska is housed in a behavioral health organization where mental health clinicians, substance abuse treatment staff, and suicide prevention outreach personnel serve remote villages. The relationship between substance abuse and mental health was clear after the organization mined their client data for trends in client service usage.

Melanee Tirua, Community Health Services Division Manager (0:28)

Get clear on why you need a partner. What can’t you do alone?

The Pyramid Lake Tribal Program (PTH), a tribal GLS grantee, also oversees the Sumunumu Program, a substance abuse prevention program funded by the Indian Health Service’s Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI). Both programs identified the need for close collaboration based on a mutual recognition of how closely linked suicide and substance abuse were in the community.

Monica Atlookan, Project Director (0:21)

The University of Albany Campus GLS grant project coordinator worked from the outset to describe the need for employing a public health approach to better sustain the project’s efforts.

Dolores Cimini, Director of University of Albany Counseling Center (0:42)