IGNITE

Integrating Goals for Navigating Intervention, Treatment, and Empowerment
Breaking Cycles • Building Futures

IGNITE is SPARK’s regional initiative focused on the intersection of substance use and suicide prevention in East Texas.

We know that addiction and suicide often travel together. Individuals struggling with substance use are at dramatically higher risk for suicide — and those facing mental health challenges may turn to substances in an effort to cope. Families and communities often find themselves caught in painful cycles of despair, stigma, and silence.

IGNITE was created to help break those cycles — by fostering collaboration, education, and hope across East Texas.

Our Mission

IGNITE brings together diverse partners to create integrated pathways to prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery. We believe that every person struggling with addiction or suicidal thoughts deserves compassion, dignity, and access to life-saving help.

IGNITE equips communities to:

  • Recognize and respond to the links between substance use and suicide

  • Provide early intervention and prevention education

  • Build bridges between mental health and substance use treatment providers

  • Engage faith communities as trusted partners in outreach and support

  • Reduce stigma and promote hope for individuals and families

  • Advocate for integrated systems of care that address the whole person

What We Do

Community Education
IGNITE hosts regional trainings and events to raise awareness about the connection between substance use and suicide — and to equip leaders, professionals, and community members with tools for prevention and intervention.

Cross-Sector Collaboration
IGNITE fosters partnerships between behavioral health providers, substance use programs, hospitals, law enforcement, courts, schools, and faith-based organizations to create more connected, trauma-informed systems of care.

Faith-Based Engagement
Recognizing the vital role of faith communities in East Texas, IGNITE provides faith-informed training and tools to help churches become safe, supportive spaces for individuals and families impacted by addiction and suicide risk.

Resource Development and Advocacy
IGNITE works to expand the availability of integrated prevention and treatment resources across our rural region — advocating for systems that meet the needs of the whole person.

Why IGNITE Matters

In East Texas:

  • Over 1/3 of suicides involve substances at the time of death

  • Individuals with substance use disorders are 10-14 times more likely to die by suicide

  • Many families face compounding grief and stigma after losing a loved one to overdose or suicide — often without coordinated support

IGNITE helps our communities move beyond fragmented care and isolation toward a future of prevention, recovery, and hope.

We are breaking cycles and building futures — one partnership, one training, one life at a time.

Get Involved

You can help IGNITE bring life-saving awareness and support across East Texas.

  • Host an IGNITE training in your organization or church

  • Volunteer with IGNITE outreach efforts

  • Become an IGNITE community ambassador

  • Partner with SPARK to expand integrated prevention and treatment pathways

Contact: info@sparkcares.org

👉 Join IGNITE. Together, we can break cycles and build futures across East Texas.