LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Mary Jean Coleman, M.S.W., upon the
occasion of her designation as recipient of the inaugural Edgar Francis
(Eddie) Reed Annual Suicide Prevention, Advocacy and Leadership Award

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, Mary Jean Coleman has given not only of her time and energies
but also of her competence, intelligence and leadership and consequently
has been designated for special honor; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Mary Jean
Coleman, M.S.W., upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of
the inaugural Edgar Francis (Eddie) Reed Annual Suicide Prevention,
Advocacy and Leadership Award, to be observed on Wednesday, May 30,
2012; and
WHEREAS, May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the State of New
York; therefore, it is fitting during this particular time to recognize
the civic endeavors of those remarkable individuals who have been called
upon to contribute their time and talents to increasing awareness of
mental health conditions and to supporting the mental wellness of all;
and
WHEREAS, Named in honor of Edgar Francis Reed, who took his own life
at the age of 17, the Edgar Francis (Eddie) Reed Annual Suicide
Prevention, Advocacy and Leadership Award recognizes individuals who
have demonstrated exceptional work in suicide prevention and advocacy
and who have displayed the courage to lead others to be the voices of
suicide prevention; and
WHEREAS, This year's recipient, Mary Jean Coleman is the National
Director of Field Programs and the Regional Director for Upstate New
York for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); and
WHEREAS, Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United
States, among young adults and adolescents, 15 to 24 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Over 150,000 New York State teenagers attempt suicide each
year; and
WHEREAS, Depressive disorders are consistently the most prevalent
disorders among adolescent suicide victims; and
WHEREAS, Sustained prevention actions including enhancing support
systems for vulnerable youth, implementing case finding with accompany-
ing referral and treatment, developing risk reduction plans and enhanc-
ing protective factors can save lives; and
WHEREAS, Our youth must be given every opportunity to survive and be
hopeful for a future as an adult; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, Mary Jean Coleman lost her 17-year-old brother to
suicide; since then, she has dedicated her life to the field of suicide
prevention and awareness; and
WHEREAS, In her role with AFSP, Mary Jean Coleman helped to establish
and continues to oversee four New York State chapters and one chapter-
in-formation, covering 54 of New York State's 62 counties; she also
serves as advisor to chapters across the country as they work to imple-
ment local suicide prevention and postvention programming in their
communities; and
WHEREAS, Mary Jean Coleman was a founding member of both the National
Council on Suicide Prevention and the New York State Council on Suicide
Prevention; and
WHEREAS, She authored the Suicide Survivors section in the New York
State Suicide Prevention Plan: Saving Lives in New York: Suicide
Prevention and Public Health document (2005) and, as a consultant for

the New York State Office of Mental Health, she authored the Suicide
Prevention Outreach and Response Facilitator Manual (2006); and
WHEREAS, Since 1998, Mary Jean Coleman has been the New York State
Lifekeeper Memory Quilt organizer for survivors of suicide loss; and
WHEREAS, Mary Jean Coleman is a past executive committee member of the
New York State Timothy's Law Coalition (mental health parity); she is
also a founding member and past co-chair for the Suicide Intervention
Skills Trainer Consortium of New York; and
WHEREAS, She is certified by the American Association of Suicidology
as a Certified Crisis Worker and by the State University at Albany as a
Field Instructor for the School of Social Welfare; and
WHEREAS, Additionally, Mary Jean Coleman is a Master Instructor for
the internationally recognized ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention
Skills Training), a registered SafeTalk (Suicide Alertness Training)
instructor, a Level One CONNECT (suicide postvention) instructor, and
she became a safeTALK Instructor in 2012; and
WHEREAS, Mary Jean Coleman has been the recipient of numerous awards
in the field including the 2006 New York State Mental Health Associ-
ation's Leila Salmond Award, the Families Together in New York State
Lifetime Achievement HOPE Award in 2008, and the Suicide Prevention
Center of New York State's Hope and Life Award in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of her community service, a
period of constructive involvement, Mary Jean Coleman has stood constant
in dignity, good grace and humor; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Mary Jean Coleman has displayed
throughout her life; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Mary Jean Coleman, M.S.W., upon the occasion of her designation as
recipient of the inaugural Edgar Francis (Eddie) Reed Annual Suicide
Prevention, Advocacy and Leadership Award; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Mary Jean Coleman, M.S.W.