Proceedings of a conference designed to bring together persons interested in the operation of Suicide Prevention Programs and Comprehensive Community Mental Health Centers are reported. Content addresses deal with the following: (1) total emergency programs; (2) emergency service as an alternate to hospitalization; (3) the utilization of non-professional workers; (4) a community approach to crisis intervention; (5) inter- and intra-community coordination of services; (6) social and political dimensions of psychiatric emergencies; (7) suicide as a health and social problem, and (8) new direction for suicide prevention services. A total of six task oriented groups demonstrated what tends to happen in the real-life planning of community mental health services. Like communities, some groups failed while others were successful in their task. (Author/EK)