EDMOND —
Quarterly training workshops for QPR — the mental health equivalent of CPR — will begin in November, a local suicide prevention panel has decided.
During Monday’s scheduled meeting of the Edmond Suicide Prevention Task Force, members discussed the idea of holding the workshops once each quarter. Members present included representatives from the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond Police Department, Edmond Public Schools, Edmond Family Counseling and the Edmond chapter of Parents Helping Parents.
The next suicide prevention workshop sponsored by the task force will be Nov. 5 at UCO. Time was tentatively set for 6-7:30 p.m. The location on the campus has not yet been determined. Members also discussed potential dates for future events.
Edmond Police Maj. Steve Thompson, task force chairman, said task force members have discussed sponsoring a prevention workshop once each quarter. Pat Nichols, co-founder of the Edmond chapter of Parents Helping Parents, said the idea for the training is to have a continuous presence in the community.
QPR — Question, Persuade and Refer — is one of several intervention models. It entails three simple steps that anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide, Thompson said.
Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help, according to the QPR Institute. QPR can be learned through the institute’s gatekeeper course in as little as one hour.
A gatekeeper is someone in a position to recognize a crisis and the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide. Gatekeepers include parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, squad leaders, foremen, police officers, advisers, caseworkers, firefighters and many others strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.
Task force members also discussed the possibility of producing a public service message and prevention efforts under way by Edmond Family Counseling.
In addition to the QPR workshop, the National Alliance on Mental Illness will be sponsoring several events in Edmond in conjunction with national Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 7-13. Eileen Morefield, president of NAMI’s Edmond-North Oklahoma City affiliate, said the organization chose to focus on Edmond due to the spike in suicides here. The events are all designed to encourage hope, Morefield said.
The local free events will include:
• A symbolic balloon release on Sept. 28. Time and place information was not immediately available;
• Showings of “OC87” Sept. 28-29 at the Oklahoma Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr., Oklahoma City. The documentary was made by a filmmaker who had a breakdown and lived in a therapeutic community for eight years. It is a personal story of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and the quest for belonging;
• A presentation featuring speakers in recovery from mental illness will be at Edmond Public Schools’ Boulevard Academy, 215 N. Boulevard, Oct. 5. This event is not open to the public;
• A candlelight vigil featuring personal stories will be from 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Hafer Park;
• An interfaith day of prayer for mental illness recovery and understanding involving pastors and representatives from faith-based organizations will be from 9-11 a.m. Oct. 9 at the state Capitol; and
• “Ask the Doctor” will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma, 5911 W. Memorial Road.
Several other events are in the works, Morefield said. NAMI is a grassroots mental health organization that advocates for access to services and treatment, supports research, raises awareness and seeks to build a community of hope for all those in need.
The Edmond Suicide Prevention Task Force will meet at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Downtown Community Center, 28 E. Main St. The task force first met earlier this year after a cluster of teen suicides. City leaders said they wanted to be proactive in addressing the issue, which affects all age groups and is a national problem.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
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