About Us
Our Story
The Greater Boston Regional Prevention Coalition (GBSPC) is one of ten regional coalitions that operate under the umbrella of Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP).
Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) is an inclusive alliance of suicide prevention advocates, including public and private agency representatives, policy makers, suicide loss and attempt survivors, impacted family and friends, mental health and public health consumers and providers, and concerned citizens who are dedicated to working together to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm across the Commonwealth.
Our Mission
GBSPC conducts activities and events for suicide prevention in Greater Boston, including screenings, public awareness events and campaigns, and community and legislative conversations, often partnering with a wide variety of stakeholders in our communities.
Meet Our Co-Chairs
Dr. Pata Suyemoto
Dr. Pata Suyemoto is a feminist scholar, writer, educator, diversity trainer, mental health activist, jewelry designer, and avid bicyclist. She earned her PhD. from the University of Pennsylvania and did her research on anti-racist education and issues of race and racism. She is the co-chair for the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and the chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) Alliance for Equity’s People of Color Caucus. Pata is one of the authors of Widening the Lens: Exploring the Role of Social Justice in Suicide Prevention – A Racial Equity Toolkit. She has spoken and written about being a suicide attempt survivor, her struggles with depression and is a co-founder of The Breaking Silences Project www.thebreakingsilencesproject.com, which is an artistic endeavor that educates about the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American young women. She is also a long-time volunteer for Asian Women for Health and is a trainer and wellness coach for the Achieving Whole Health program. Pata is also member of a number of boards and committees including the MCSP’s Executive Committee, the planning committee for the annual Asian American Mental Health Forum, and the Department of Public Health’s Suicide Prevention Community Advisory Board. She is active in the American Association of Suicidology’s Impacted Family and Friends (IFF) Division, the Attempt Survivors/Lived Experience (AS/LE) Division, and the Racial Equity and Inclusion Committee. Her claim to fame is that she rode her bicycle across the country in the summer of 2012.
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Joanna Bridger, LICSW is the Director of Safety, Hope, & Healing Counseling & Consulting. She hasworked with youth, families, adults, and communities that have experienced trauma and loss in a wide range of settings in the U.S. and abroad for more than 20 years. She seerves as the Co Chair of the Greater Boston Suicide Prevention Coalition and the clinical consultant for the Support After Death by Overdose Program (SADOD) and is a part-time lecturer at the Boston University School of Social Work. Joanna has an MSW from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Health, and a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at JRI (now the Trauma Research Foundation) and is trained in a wide range of trauma and loss focused therapeutic modalities.