Sierra Tucson's Regional Outreach Specialist Contributes to 40 Years of Success With Suicide Prevention Organization

TUCSON, AZ--(Marketwired - Jun 10, 2014) - Sierra Tucson, an international leader in the treatment of complex, co-occurring behavioral health disorders, is honored to announce their own Lisa Sarno was amongst those celebrated at Samaritans' anniversary of "40 years of compassion" during its annual Breakfast for Hope benefit on May 14.

Lisa Sarno is a Sierra Tucson Regional Outreach Specialist in Boston. Sarno was among Samaritans' first helpline volunteers in the 1970s and is now a member of the board of directors. Samaritans, Inc. is a suicide prevention organization that has grown exponentially since the early days when its first location was in a church basement in 1974, and over the years they have helped hundreds of thousands of people at a time of crisis.

It is estimated that during the past 40 years, more than 4,500 trained volunteers have answered more than 2.5 million phone calls. Each call represents someone who is in crisis or is dealing with feelings of isolation, despair or suicide. The concept of befriending and listening is just as important now as it was in 1974. Samaritans also works with the region's survivor community -- a group of more than 10,000 people who have been personally impacted by a loss to suicide over the past forty years -- while they grieve and heal.

"We are so proud of Lisa for volunteering so much of her time and for lending her expertise to help grow an amazing organization like Samaritans," said Dr. Deni Carise, Chief Clinical Advisor at Sierra Tucson. "She has helped countless people through her dedication and service to Samaritans and through her work at Sierra Tucson, where our goal is to provide effective, quality treatment services that help our patients to go on to live productive, meaningful lives."

As Sierra Tucson's Boston-based Regional Outreach Specialist, Sarno is a local reliable resource for behavioral health treatment placement across a vast network of facilities and resources, ranging from addiction and co-occurring disorders to trauma, mood/anxiety, disordered eating and complex pain. She brings hope and guidance to those struggling with these issues by collaborating with other professionals in the mental health and addictions community and through liaising with family members to help find individuals the appropriate level of care within their local, regional and national system of providers. Finally, Sarno collaborates with her clients' referents and treatment teams internally and externally to provide comprehensive care coordination; while acting as an internal liaison to foster and enhance the experience and outcomes for her clients.

About Samaritans
Samaritans' mission is to reduce the incidence of suicide by alleviating despair, isolation, distress and suicidal feelings among individuals in our community, 24 hours a day; to educate the public about suicide prevention; and to reduce the stigma associated with suicide. They accomplish this through services that emphasize confidential, non-judgmental, and compassionate listening. For more information please visit www.samaritanshope.org or call (877) 870-HOPE.

About Sierra Tucson
Sierra Tucson is a member of CRC Health Group, the most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral health programs in the nation. CRC offers the largest array of personalized treatment options, allowing individuals, families, and professionals to choose the most appropriate treatment setting for their behavioral, addiction, weight management, and therapeutic education needs. CRC is committed to making its services widely and easily available, while maintaining a passion for delivering advanced, empirically validated treatment. Serving over 41,000 patients daily in over 140 treatment programs in 33 states, since 1995, CRC programs have helped thousands of individuals and families reclaim and enrich their lives. For more information, please visit www.sierratucson.com.