Support the Center for Education in Mass Violence and Suicide

Mass violence and suicide have taken the lives of far too many in the United States. After every school shooting, act of targeted violence, or suicide, many ask “What can I do to help?” or “How can we prevent this from happening?”

The University of Toledo is fortunate to have a passionate professor who has dedicated her career to finding answers to these questions. Based on her research, Dr. Lisa Pescara-Kovach believes in a holistic approach to prevention, intervention, active response, and recovery in relation to mass violence and suicide. Specifically, she specializes in prevention through behavioral threat assessments, intervention through assisting those struggling before they harm themselves and others, active response, and recovery through critical incident stress management. She conducts research related to this approach and has shared her knowledge with educators, law enforcement, mental health professionals and others who can work together to fight violence and prevent suicide.

Dr. Pescara-Kovach created the Center for Education in Mass Violence and Suicide at The University of Toledo to address these issues.

Gifts to this center will allow Dr. Pescara-Kovach and her team to continue and expand the research she is completing to better understand what leads to targeted violence and suicide and how to prevent those acts that take the lives of innocent youth.

Gifts will also allow those involved with the Center to directly impact schools and therefore children by helping school districts implement effective threat assessment teams. Dr. Pescara-Kovach in one of thirteen approved trainers in the state of Ohio on this topic and offers the training at no cost to the districts. All school buildings grades 6-12 in the state of Ohio must have a threat assessment team in place by March 24, 2023. For more information click here.

Dr. Pescara-Kovach provides multidisciplinary teams with skills to identify and help those at risk of perpetrating actives of mass violence or to losing their lives to suicide. The approach is not punitive in nature; rather it is put in place for the protective factors needed to thwart these tragedies.  

This campaign is launching on the one-year anniversary of the tragic Oxford shooting which took the lives of four bright students who are no longer able to fulfill their dreams and potential.

Too often when we hear of a school shooting, after a few weeks people move on. Those who have been directly impacted find it difficult to move on. To read more about how violent acts continue to affect victims and their families, one survivor and his family shared their story. Click here for more information.

Thank you for your support as we work to keep America’s children safe.