Thursday, September 17, 2026

Suicide Prevention Summit Returns to Pasadena City College Friday With Arts and Youth Organizations on the Program

The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Network holds the second day of its annual summit Friday at Pasadena City College, running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. under the theme “The Strength We Share: Power in Community.”

It is the second September in a row that the countywide network has brought a day of its summit to the Pasadena campus, and it arrives weeks after the network gave its leadership award to a wildfire recovery program serving communities that include Altadena.

Friday’s program is part of the network’s 16th annual suicide prevention summit, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

Scheduled presenters include Juan Diego Sanabria of CONTRA-TIEMPO, Christal Sarah Mims and Jafar Woods of Project KnuckleHead. CONTRA-TIEMPO is a Los Angeles activist dance theater company founded in 2005 by Ana Maria Alvarez. Project KnuckleHead, founded in 2012, is a national nonprofit that describes its work as serving youth in the justice system, youth with mental health needs and youth experiencing homelessness.

The summit’s first day was held Sept. 8 at The California Endowment, with Amanda Rowan, Dr. Angela Benveniste-Evans, Dr. Derek Hsieh and Devin Saragosa-Harris scheduled to present, along with Kalpulli Temachtia Quetzalcoatl.

Last year’s community day at the college, on Sept. 13, was a free, all-ages program with free parking on campus, according to Los Angeles County.

Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center, whose Wildfire Recovery Program took the network’s leadership award Sept. 3, offers six free counseling sessions to anyone affected by the January 2025 fires, including people who were displaced and people supporting others who were, according to the organization. Its wildfire recovery line is (424) 362-2935.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts at 988.

LASPN Summit 2026, “The Strength We Share: Power in Community,” Day 2, runs Friday, Sept. 18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Registration is open to anyone, requires an EventsHub account, and is at https://dmh.lacounty.gov/laspn-26-day2*. Email* info@lasuicidepreventionnetwork.org or call the college at (626) 585-7123.