Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens and youth in Indiana. The mission of the Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse and Suicide (ICPYAS) has always been the same: to prevent child sexual abuse and suicide.
Initially established as Chaucie's Place in 2001, ICPYAS received a Kicking The Stigma Action Grant in 2023 and 2024. Kicking The Stigma is the Colts and Irsay family initiative to support mental health awareness, research and treatment while working to remove the stigma so often associated with mental health. Each year, mental health initiatives across the state are encouraged to apply for financial support.
The organization applied again in 2025 and received the same grant.
"$10,000 is a pretty nice sized grant," executive director Melissa Peregrin said. "I like to look at, 'What do we do with it?' and then 'What could we do with it?'"
Even though it has applied for the grant multiple years in a row, the goal of ICPYAS is constantly growing with the hope of expanding its outreach.
"We seek funding for our Signs of Suicide program for grades 6-12 and the QPR Gatekeeper training for the general public," the 2025 application said. "These evidence-based programs equip students, educators, parents and community members with the knowledge and skills to recognize, respond to and prevent suicide."
Educating people of all ages on youth sexual abuse and suicide is vital to ICPYAS. With the Kicking The Stigma grant, the initial goal has allowed it to reach more people, especially younger ones.
"We have been able to reach 1600 individuals with suicide prevention education and take on one new school," Peregrin said. "It allowed us to spend the time to create resources for those schools to give to those students."
The Center also aims to educate adults on the varying responses to a child coming to them for help, and Peregrin has taken those trainings into her own home.
"I've had two children that had mental health issues and have dealt with suicidal ideation," she said. "What I did was, "I'm going to ask you this question and if you don't want to talk to me, who's somebody else you can talk to?'"
As social media has evolved, so has the education points of the Center. While still focusing on youth sexual abuse and suicide, it began teaching about digital safety in 2022 and keeping kids safe from sexualization online.
"When we talk to adults, we never say, 'This app is bad and you shouldn't let your kids be on this app,' because the apps change all the time," Peregrin said. "It's about bullying behaviors and those kinds of things, and we know bullying is one of the leading causes of teen and youth suicidal thoughts."
Both online and offline, ICPYAS aims to inform people of all ages about the warning signs of youth sexual abuse and suicide, and hopes that with continued support, the life-saving programs they have instilled expand.
