In February 2018, Broward County experienced the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas  High School that shocked and re-shaped reality for our community. In that year alone there were 264 suicides which was an increase of 17.6% in one year. In February 2019, MSD saw two students attempt to take their lives and a third complete suicide in what is believe to be directly related to the tragedy a year earlier. Acutely aware of the possibility of a suicide cluster, the behavioral health and city leadership came together to discuss how to address the needs of our community. To create alignment in efforts and services, Broward Behavioral Health Coalition convened a coalition of key community stakeholders and a consultant from the American Suicidology Association to perform a psychological autopsy on Broward County. From that information a needs assessment and Community-wide Suicide Prevention Plan was created.

While there are many suicide prevention initiatives and sources of data to track all levels of suicidality, only the Broward Suicide Prevention Coalition gathers key stakeholders, across sectors and fields to work together on a strategic mission of reaching a Zero Suicide Initiative in Broward County. The Broward Suicide Prevention Coalition was created in 2019 as a collaborative with representation from approximately 50 local agencies, including mental health, law enforcement, education, hospitals and the business community. The intention of the Broward Suicide Prevention Coalition is to align, inform and convene all suicide prevention efforts across the County in order to increase systemic capacity, empower partnerships, and reduce over-lap.