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UPCOMING EVENTS

Suicide Prevention Awareness Week

Suicide Prevention Training Appleton

Grief Seminar—free to the public ...

...the Community for Hope of Greater Oshkosh will be offering suicide prevention training t during the month of September in QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer).  QPR is a nationally recognized prevention program that teaches fundamental principles of prevention.  Techniques in prevention designed for the general public focus on asking effective questions, persuading the person to get help, and referring the person to professional help.  Suicide prevention is complex and suicide crosses the lifespan affecting all races and genders. QPR emphasizes that being able to identify the warning signs and intervening early reduces the risk of death by suicide.  Just as the American Heart Association has taught the general public to recognize symptoms of a heart attack and take steps to sustain life, QPR teaches fundamental principles of prevention and intervention that anyone can use to sustain life.

With the current economic woes, there is concern about the potential risk of death by suicide.  Historically, suicide has been correlated with recessions and the Great Depression.  However, caution should be used when drawing direct correlations between the economy and suicide.  The economy has brought on loss, uncertainty, and anxiety for many people.  Loss of control and financial resources can leave people feeling helpless.  However, there are many ways to cope.  An upside to the down turn in the economy is that it causes people to reassess priorities.  It also draws communities closer joining together their resources and sharing hope for the future.  Teaching coping skills and sending a message that asking for help is courageous (and often lifesaving) rather than a sign of weakness, is part of the mission of Community for Hope of Greater Oshkosh.

These messages are stressed in the training.  Participants will learn the warning signs of suicide, risk factors, and intervention strategies.  This is just one part of a larger approach to maintaining a healthy, hopeful community. 

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Community for Hope, an Oshkosh suicide prevention and post-vention organization founded in 2001,  was established in response to a number of teen suicides in the Fox Valley.  Since 2001, CFH now focuses on mental health issues facing all age groups.