News
KH Hosts Suicide Prevention Workshop
November 22, 2011
Nearly 30 community members, educators, healthcare providers and parents recently participated in a recent SafeTALK Suicide Prevention Workshop hosted by Kewanee Hospital’s Community Relations Committee. Cheryl Robinson, certified LivingWORKS trainer, facilitated the workshop in the hospital’s East/West Conference Room. This was Robinson’s third time presenting at Kewanee Hospital.
Robinson lost a son to suicide several years ago and through faith, reading and research, discovered the LivingWORKS Educational programs. Since then, she has used her years of experience in education to spread the word that suicide should be talked about and steps can be taken to help those at-risk of suicide. A few of the workshop participants shared their own stories of how their lives had been impacted by suicide.
“Suicide happens when pain exceeds the availability of resources for the pain,” Robinson stated. “TheSafeTALK program explores key issues surrounding suicide including prevention, the importance of identifying individuals who may be having thoughts of suicide, and connecting those individuals with the right resources to get help.”
The SafeTALK program helps provide resources to people in the community to help them address the problem of suicide by taking the first step – becoming knowledgeable about suicide, and recognizing the signs. SafeTALK teaches the following steps: Tell – talk directly, openly and honestly with individuals who you think may be having suicidal thoughts; Ask – don’t ‘skirt’ the issue; the best way to ask someone if they are having suicidal thoughts is to say, “Sometimes when people…” and complete your thought, making the individual realize they are not alone; Listen – you don’t have to have all the answers, just encourage the individual to keep talking and sharing; and Keep Safe – recognize that you may not be able to help, but that you can enlist someone who can.
“Never promise secrecy,” Robinson stressed to the group. “If an individual says, ‘promise me you won’t tell anyone about this,’ it is not your responsibility to agree to that. It is your responsibility to help keep that individual safe by getting them the help they need.”
Individuals in attendance received Continuing Education Units and CPDUs. If you would like to receive information on upcoming seminars, follow Kewanee Hospital on Facebook or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
