Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, Inc.

Stated Purpose:
We are a 24-hour comprehensive crisis center and community resource whose first responders provide support to anyone in need.  We save lives by restoring safety, promoting emotional strength and reducing the impact of trauma  through intervention, education, prevention and community collaboration.

Year, State Incorporated:
1968, NY

Also Known As:
Crisis Services

Crisis Services is Buffalo and Erie County’s ONLY comprehensive crisis center that provides a live person to respond to crisis 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, since 1968. Suicide, crisis intervention, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, trauma response, addiction issues, or living with mental health conditions are all areas in which our staff offers their expertise and advocacy. Crisis Services is the only accredited provider by the American Association of Suicidology in WNY and the only designated Rape Crisis Center by the NYS Department of Health in Erie County.  We save lives by restoring safety, promoting emotional strength and reducing the impact of trauma through intervention, education, prevention and community collaboration.

Our Crisis First Responders help approximately 100,000 residents of our community each year when impacted by a crisis – any type of crisis – 24 hours a day.

Crisis Services is comprised of three main departments: 24 hour Crisis Counseling Program (CCP), Emergency Mental Health Response Services (EMHRS), and Advocate Program. Each of these departments has their own specialized branches of service and response teams.

Crisis Counseling Program (CCP)
The dedicated staff who make up our Crisis Counseling Program are trained crisis hotline counselors who assist callers 24 hours a day that are in various types of crisis, need supportive counseling, or looking for resources in Erie County.  CCP is the first point of access for callers in need of more thorough services, like Crisis Services’ Advocate Department or Emergency Mental Health Response services, such as Mobile Outreach Response.

CCP is also the continuum of care after-hours provider for consumers of 13 local mental health and behavioral health agencies in Erie County. CCP also manages the 24-hour Kids Help Line in Erie County and is the mental health 24-hour hotline provider for Chautauqua County. Crisis Services is the network center for all WNY calls made to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. On average, CCP prevents over 80% of callers in mental health crisis from using 911 or more costly emergency services.

In 2016, Erie County asked Crisis Services to lead the implementation and operation of a 24-hour addiction hotline, 716-831-7007. The Addiction Hotline is the first voice of assistance for immediate help, education, information, referrals and assistance with linkage to treatment. The Addiction Hotline is not only for individuals battling addiction but for family members or friends in need of support and guidance with those struggling with addiction. Our Addiction Hotline Counselors will provide support, give information and referrals regarding Chemical Dependency services, and may be able to provide an immediate connection to an Outpatient Chemical Dependency Agency for access to an appointment that same day. Referrals can be made to Chemical/Addiction providers within Erie County and selected areas of Niagara County. Whether you are calling the Addictions Hotline to obtain information or to get linked with Stabilization (Detoxification), Outpatient (same day access), Inpatient, Residential services or Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) the Addiction Hotline Counselor can provide a mini screening to help determine the appropriate level of care.  Hotline Counselors can link the caller with a Peer or Family Navigator from the Addict to Addict Program at Western New Your Independent Living. A Peer Navigator from the Addict to Addict program can assist a caller who may need that extra specialized attention from a Peer while going through the linkage and recovery process. A family member or friend who is calling the Hotline can be linked with a Family Navigator to provide support and assistance in dealing with their loved one's addiction and recovery process.  As of July 1, 2018, Crisis Services’ Addiction Hotline will expand its reach and serve as the access point for the Open Access Center model. The Open Access effort is coordinated via Horizon Health Services, the lead agency as part of a NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASAS) grant awarded to WNY. This multi-county collaboration works to create seamless connection of those contacting the Addiction and Open Access Hotline with a variety of treatment providers across the counties of Erie, Niagara, Allegany, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus.

Emergency Mental Health Response Services (EMHRS)
EMHRS provides 24/7 help and support to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Specialized branches of the EMHRS Department include:

Mobile Outreach Response Program
This program’s main goal is to divert as many people as possible from unnecessarily presenting to a psychiatric emergency room and diversion from jail by linking clients with proper mental health services. Thousands of individuals avoid unnecessary hospitalization or jail time thanks to the assistance of Mobile Outreach Counselors providing immediate intervention, safety planning and connection to needed resources for those presenting with harm to self or others in Erie County. On average of the 2,400 people receiving mental health interventions, about 70% of them are safely stabilized in the community, saving $2800 daily per person from unnecessary hospitalization, equaling an annual savings of over $4 million.



Mobile Transitional Services
People recently released from a psychiatric inpatient stay at ECMC can receive short term care from our Mobile Transitional Services counselors. Our staff provide clinical supportive care to these individuals until they become successfully linked with their outpatient treatment provider.  This program partners with WNY Independent Living Center where their Peer Specialist staff work in collaboration with the clinical staff to wrap the client in needed services to support a successful transition from inpatient back to home, work and community. This collaborative approach has shown success in reducing a representation to the hospital, diversion from jail and helps prevent suicide risk, which research has shown to be at higher risk post hospitalization. Last year, 83% of MTS Clients were stabilized and securely linked to ongoing outpatient mental health services in the community.

Crisis Intervention Team Training Project (CIT)
Crisis Services is the sole provider of the CIT training program for Erie County. CIT is specialized training for law enforcement to learn how to handle situations with individuals with mental illness. Since 2013, Crisis Services has trained over 400 police officers in the CIT model. This training provides advanced skills in de-escalation, empathy and engagement with mental health services as an alternative to hospital or jail.

CIT Crisis Case Management
Crisis Services CIT Case Managers are assigned to CIT trained police departments. The Crisis Case Managers provide services to individuals with mental illness who repeatedly encounter law enforcement. The goal of the program is to provide support and engage the client into services that will prevent unnecessary hospital visits or jail time. This program also provides a Peer to work alongside the Crisis Case Manager with clients.  Nearly 75% of individuals who work with a Crisis Case Manager are successfully connected to ongoing outpatient mental health services.

Advocate Program
The Advocate Program provides 24/7 confidential response and crisis intervention for survivors of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence and elder abuse at all Erie County emergency departments when a survivor presents there.  Ninety percent of sexual and domestic violence victims treated at local hospitals receive intervention from our Advocate staff within 45 minutes of contact.

Clients can access case management services, safety planning, supportive counseling, criminal justice advocacy & accompaniment to court proceedings, linkage to NYS Office of Victim Services compensation, and connection and referrals to community resources.  Survivors of sexual assault and elder abuse are offered free therapy services by our licensed social worker.  Case managers are co-located at several different police departments and several college campuses within Erie County. The campus advocates also assist student survivors with on-campus adjudication, providing advocacy, accompaniments, and advisement through their on-campus process.

Crisis Services has been the operator of the NYS Domestic & Sexual Violence Hotline on behalf of the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence since 2010, and also operates the Erie County Domestic Violence helpline.  Our Hotline Counselors answer approximately 10,000 calls annually on these lines alone.

The Advocate Program houses a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Program that partners with area hospitals to provide on-site forensic services to people, 12 years old and older, who have been sexually assaulted within a 96-hour period and seeking help. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Team works with both Kaleida and Catholic Health Systems, covering nine hospitals in Erie and Niagara Counties. The SAFE Program is celebrating 15 years of service to the community.

The Advocate Program also offers community education, training, and sexual violence prevention programming. Crisis Services was chosen as the lead agency on a tri-county NYS Dept. of Health initiative addressing sexual violence prevention, known as the Region 6 Sexual Violence Prevention Collaborative, or R6. R6 focuses on strategies to engage and empower individuals and community partners to create sustainable behavioral and cultural change, overall contributing to healthy school and campus environments, healthy nightlife, and safer overall communities.

Collaborative Initiatives
In addition to our specialized programs and departments, Crisis Services is a vital partner in helping to improve and enhance the system response in our community. We are the leader of these crucial collaborative initiatives in our community: Rape Crisis Advisory Committee, The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Erie County, and the Police/Mental Health Coordination Project. Though these initiatives all support different agendas, there is a common bond: raising awareness to decrease tragedy through collaboration. By educating our community we are able to implement prevention tactics and general awareness where it may have previously been lacking.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, Inc.'s program expenses were:

Chief Executive
Jessica Pirro, President/CEO

Compensation*
$143,463

Chair of the Board
Jessica Brown, Comptroller

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Erie County Water Authority

Board Size
15

Paid Staff Size
100

* Compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Grant proposals, Internet, Appeals via Social Media (Facebook, etc.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service, Inc.'s audited financial statements - consolidated for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Source of Funds

Programs: 92% Fundraising: 2% Administrative: 7%