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Suicide conference benefical for all

Evansville Courier & Press - 7/24/2017

July 24--Suicide can touch anyone. It doesn't discriminate by age, class, race or ethnicity. But, there are things that can be done to prevent it.

The upcoming Indiana Suicide Prevention Conference, on Aug. 4, will focus on just that -- prevention.

"Anyone in the community should come to this," said Frank Campbell, a suicidologist with more than 30 years of experience in the field and the keynote speaker for the conference. "Suicide is such a community project. To try to really reduce suicide, to really make an impact requires everyone."

If only mental health professionals were armed with the tools to help with prevention, intervention and postvention, then the impact on the community is limited. But if the coworkers, teachers, friends and family of those who considering suicide have the skills and knowledge to address problems, then a difference can really be made.

"They aren't going to go talk to someone in mental health," Campbell said. "Instead they are going to talk to a friend, a neighbor or someone else in their sphere of influence. So, who should come -- everyone in the community."

Registration for the conference ahead of time is requested but there is no deadline. It includes two speakers and about nine breakout sessions are available.

The state is well above the national average for suicides and the southwestern district of the state -- which Evansville is a part of -- was ranked second, with Vanderburgh County having the highest rate.

Campbell said the conference will address state-of-the-art information on what helps individuals at risk for suicide and those who have lost someone to suicide. He was the founder of the concept of a Loss Team, or a team of people from a variety of backgrounds (including family members of those who have died by suicide) that responds to loved ones after a suicide. In Evansville that team is called the HOPE Team.

Kim Gentry of Boonville had been doing a little of this a few years before the area adopted the HOPE Team in 2014. Her son Logan Gentry died by suicide on Jan. 1, 2007 at age 25. She will be on a panel discussion talking about the importance of postvention.

In 2010, someone reached out to Gentry asking her to help a friend who had lost their 16-year-old son to suicide. After that word got out and she was being contacted regularly to help families impacted by suicide.

"We believe that postvention is the prevention of the future," Gentry said. "The sooner you get help to new people the less likely it is to go full circle and come around and hit again."

She encouraged the community to come to the conference to learn more and help remove the stigma associated with suicide and mental illness.

"The more you know the more you can share and help others," Gentry said.

Gentry said everyone thinks they are immune to suicide and don't need this kind of information. She said their family certainly didn't, until it hit them.

The goal of the conference is to give people tangible skills to immediately use. Campbell said it is great to hear people say, "I didn't realize there were things I could do to make a difference."

"If we are going to make a difference we must educate people," Campbell said. "Life-saving steps can be learned with CPR but what they don't realize is that they can also be learned when it comes to suicide. There are basic life-saving skills that we can provide that have shown to reduce the suicide rate dramatically.

"It can be done. People just should turn up. Come and see what you can do to make a difference in the community in reducing the most traumatic cause of death we know of in America."

More information

To register or for more information about the conference visit www.usi.edu/SuicidePrevention.

It is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Aug. 4 and costs $50.

Warning signs of suicide:

Threatening to kill or hurt yourself or talking about wanting to kill or hurt yourself

Looking at ways to kill yourself by seeking access to means such as pills or a gun

Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide

Feeling hopeless

Feeling rage, uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge.

Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities seemingly without even thinking.

Feeling trapped like there is no way out

Increasing drug or alcohol use.

Withdrawing from friends and family.

Feeling anxious, agitated or unable to sleep. Or sleeping all the time.

Experiencing dramatic mood changes.

Seeing no reason for living or feeling you have no purpose in life.

For help

If you or someone you know is experiencing an emergency, go to your local emergency room or call 911. For more information or to talk to someone call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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(c)2017 the Evansville Courier & Press (Evansville, Ind.)

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