About Us

Mission
The mission of Suicide Prevention Advisory and Resource Council (SPARC) is dedicated to preventing suicide by expanding community collaborative, identifying new effective strategies in prevention, implementing prevention projects and practices, and educating our community about suicide prevention. The goal is to reduce the number of deaths by suicide.

SPARC Members

Alison Gomez

Manager and editor of SPARC's social media accounts, an author for the SPARC blog, and community presenter. Alison became involved with SPARC to promote suicide awareness and information about prevention. Alison is currently a student in the MS Counseling Psychology program at California State University, Bakersfield, training to become a therapist.

---

Brandon S.

SPARC blog author and a SPARC community member. He has been writing for SPARC since February 2015, often with his weekly quote of the week.

---

Nikki K.

SPARC blog author. She has been writing for SPARC since March 2015, often sharing her mental health experiences and educating about coping skills.

---

Geronimo Desiderio

SPARC blog author and social media manager for the Spanish PSyC Facebook page, Prevención Suicidal y Conocimiento.

---

Michelle Ruiz

Chief Editor of the bi-monthly SPARC newsletter.

---

Yvonne Kendrick

SPARC Community Member, Kern County Mental Health Employee, and Trainer. Provide education/awareness about suicide prevention/intervention. Yvonne became involved with SPARC to share a passion with her team for educating all about suicide prevention and intervention.