October 27, 2016
In the United States, of the ten leading causes of death, only suicide continues to rise year after year. And, locally, suicide has become a major problem, with the two local high school students dying by suicide in roughly one year, as well as others of all ages taking their lives. Suicide is a problem both locally and nationally that needs to be addressed.
It is for this reason that Here/Hear, a local organization that helps the mentally ill and their loved ones, is offering a suicide awareness and prevention training on Nov. 5 at 11am at the LifePlex in Plymouth. This training will be led by Nate Crawford, Executive Director of Here/Hear.
Crawford has been certified by the nationally renowned QPR Institute to teach their “Gatekeeper” Course. This course helps people in the proven method of QPR. QPR is like CPR in that it is an intervention into the life of one who may be thinking of suicide to save their life. QPR is based upon three things. The first is that one must listen and ask questions of the person who may be considering suicide. Second, there is a moment of persuasion to convince the person that suicide is not the answer and to take away means for suicide. Third, there is the necessity to refer the person to get the help they need. All of this works together to intervene in people’s lives and create the conditions necessary to take suicide away as an option.
Crawford says, “This training actually helps save lives by teaching people how to recognize when someone might be considering suicide and how to intervene in their life. And, honestly, it’s for everyone. Everyone can benefit from learning this because you never know when someone in your life may become suicidal. We can teach you to recognize the warning signs and then how to help in a constructive way. It’s tough, but it’s proven to work.”
The training is free, but space is limited, so Here/Hear asks you to register by contacting Nate Crawford at nate@herehear.org; you can also contact him with any questions you may have. Again, the training is on November 5 at the LIfePlex in Plymouth and begins at 11am. The ability to make this training free comes from a generous grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation.