The McLean County Health Department is offering a suicide prevention program for the community.
The program, based on the QPR technique [question, persuade, refer] aims to offer a free resource for teachers, clergy members, coaches and anyone willing to take an hour to better prepare themselves in case of a crisis.
“Suicide prevention is important in our community, and we want to make sure that timely education makes a difference. So the training is part of an ongoing effort to give community members information and tools that would be helpful to assist someone that's in a crisis or having thoughts of suicide,” said Amy Hopper, the behavioral health program manager for McLean County.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health [IDPH], suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in Illinois, and often subject to stigma, myth and shame. Hopper told WGLT the QPR training is recommended for anyone regardless of their personal experiences.
“The training is designed to be informative and supportive of anyone taking the training," she said. "And so that does take into account other people that may have struggled with thoughts of suicide and how to make sure that they're also learning how to even support themselves."
QPR is an evidence-based method which has been shown to increase knowledge of warning signs for suicide. But tracking efficacy is a challenge—experts cannot measure suicides that don't happen. Hopper said although the program cannot prevent every suicide, it is designed to give people the skills to engage in tough conversations.
"We just really want people to have the skills to have these conversations, and know it's okay to have these conversations. This is not about saying the perfect thing. There is no perfect thing to say. It's just really about being with someone during these times."
The training is entirely online, which may also raise concerns about the effectiveness. Hopper said the program is designed to increase accessibility to suicide prevention and a good complement with other Health Department services.
“Accessibility is the most important thing, but also one of the reasons is there's so much stigma around talking about suicide," she said. "Some people may even feel uncomfortable going to an in-person training, so here's a virtual option as well."
The free, at-your-own-pace QPR suicide prevention program is available on the McLean County Health Department's website. McLean County also offers a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, McLean County Behavioral Health Urgent Care [walk-in crisis support] at 520 N. Center St. in Bloomington.
