La Plata County broke a record in 2012, and it wasn’t a good one. The county had a record high of people who died by suicide.
The Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention reports that 16 people in the county died by suicide in 2012, six women and 10 men, with 13 of them between the ages of 25 and 64, and three of them 65 or older. Three of them were military veterans.
“Far too many Coloradans struggle with thoughts of suicide,” said Jarrod Hindman, manager of Office of Suicide Prevention, “and far too many die when they are unable to manage debilitating mental, emotional or physical pain. But suicide can be prevented.”
The Southern Ute Community Action Program is working to decrease the number of suicides locally by offering QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training today. The three-point program teaches people to:
Question a person’s desire or intent regarding suicide.
Persuade the person to seek and accept help.
Refer the person to the appropriate resources.
The training will include videos and practice dialogues as well as wallet reminder cards. Attendees will learn to identify general warning signs of suicide and the skills needed to help someone who is considering ending his or her life.
abutler@durangoherald.com
If you go
The QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today at the Durango Public Library Program Room 3.
