One of the roles of the Coroner’s Office is to increase public awareness. The Office provides a critical feedback loop on deadly trends affecting the County’s residents. Some problems are so complex that it requires an inter-agency task force which is why the Coroner’s Office attends both the Suicide Prevention and Drug Overdose task forces, providing statistics and trends that help shape our County’s policies and help shine a spotlight on these important issues to the larger community.

Suicide in particular has been an ongoing area of concern affecting Chester County these last four years. Sophia partnered with local officials to make the case for additional fencing around a bridge in Downingtown that the Coroner’s Office data showed was a hot spot for young teens.

Sophia has also been helping to run the high school outreach program for the Office, including going to area high schools to talk about a career in Forensics and holding mock crash scenes (very popular with the kids) that both informs them of what the role of the Coroner is, and provides a vivid illustration of the dangers of drinking and driving.