Facing life's challenges and crises can help us recognize our inner strengths. Family Service Agency of the Central Coast believes in the power and potential of people all ages and backgrounds to discover their own creative solutions. Our professional staff and volunteers provide the resources, support and counseling services essential to healthy families and communities.
Suicide Prevention Service (SPS), a program of Family Service Agency of the Central Coast, provides life-saving support to individuals and families affected by suicide. Our team connects with survivors soon after a loss to offer compassionate outreach, peer-led grief support groups, and counseling. Through our Survivor Outreach Team, composed of trained loss survivors, we help individuals feel less alone and more supported during the most vulnerable time in their lives. In addition, we deliver suicide prevention training and education across Monterey County to youth, schools, professionals, and underserved communities. We work to reduce stigma, foster healing, and ensure everyone has access to culturally responsive care. Community support through MCGives! allows us to sustain and expand this critical work.
SPS serves Monterey County by providing direct support to individuals impacted by suicide, including immediate outreach, ongoing grief support, and mental health education. We respond to calls from local agencies, families, and providers, offering postvention care across all regions, including underserved rural communities. Our bilingual team facilitates school-based training, parent outreach, and resource tabling to promote early intervention and awareness. We also maintain strong partnerships with county behavioral health, law enforcement, hospitals, and schools. By helping individuals heal and educating the public about suicide prevention, we foster stronger, more resilient communities across Monterey County.
My experience with Suicide Prevention Service has completely reshaped how I see people and the world. Through their training and work, I learned that being present, listening without judgment, and empowering others to find their own strength is far more powerful than giving advice. SPS taught me how to truly connect, with youth, families, and individuals in crisis, and to hold space for their most vulnerable moments. The skills I gained here continue to impact my work and life every day.
- Anonymous Anonymous, Monterey
