Lecia Allman

Master of Science in Educational Psychology

Lecia Allman volunteers as an Education Lecturer and a Legislative Advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Lecia shared that she volunteers with this organization because she’s had too many encounters with suicidal ideation and death by suicide.

Lecia shared the following about her experience:

"I am pursuing a clinical social work license (LCSW) in order to counsel nontraditional students. K12 has social workers and psychologists, and students on-campus have access to some of the same. However, nontraditional online students do not seem to have access to the same services. My niche will be limited to this demographic, via TeleHealth access.

When I was completing an internship while earning an MSW, I encountered a suicide that had occurred earlier that week at a high school. By then, we were providing support to the teachers. Before I ended my shift that day, we received news that another student had taken their own life, earlier that day, in their parents’ basement. This was my first day of internship. Before the semester ended, a student at one of the elementary schools I was assigned to (seven total), had attempted to take their own life in the classroom.

These events, along with the growing number of suicide attempts I was encountering in the emergency room, at the hospital I was working in, prompted me to learn more. I joined the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP-GA), and was trained to give educational talks on how to help people showing signs of suicidal intention. I speak to all types of agencies: churches, non-profits, corporations, medical workers, gun associations, and political staffs, etc. I also give lectures to families and friends who have lost loved ones to suicide.

I am trained on two presentations: “Talk Saves Lives” and “More Than Sad.” The first addresses suicide in general, but the second addresses teen and youth suicide in particular.

I have also testified before the Georgia legislature during our Annual Legislative Day, and participated in the drive that resulted in “988” becoming the National Suicide Hotline, beginning in 2023."