Various upcoming events have been planned across campus for Suicide Prevention Month. Two of the events are being hosted by the Kent State Center for Public Policy and Health. 

The first event will take place Sept. 18, with plans to provide Awareness Interaction Direction (A.I.D.) mental health training to attendees. 

Kayla Marker, a certified QPR instructor and Kent State research associate, said this training works to teach trainees the skills to provide mental health information and prevent mental illness stigma. 

“We talk about the communication do’s and don’ts of interacting with someone who’s experiencing distress and how we should approach that conversation,” Marker said. 

The training talks about next steps to take, whether that be for yourself or to help someone else in distress. The steps focus on determining what type of intervention is necessary, which may include self-help resources, professional resources or hotline numbers. 

The second event this month is Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training, which will take place Sept. 24. This training focuses on looking for the warning signs, and how to approach the subject. 

“It talks about suicide warning signs and also how to question someone if they’re having thoughts of suicide,” Marker said. “If we have a gut feeling, we’ve paid attention to those warning signs and we feel like we need to intervene.” 

The next steps trainees learn in these sessions are how to persuade someone to stay alive and how to refer them to suicide prevention resources. Both training events are open for any university member looking to learn more about suicide prevention.  

“QPR is suicide prevention training, but all of the content is appropriate for students, faculty and staff,” Marker said. 

Marker said offering this training is possible because they received the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant. This grant is designed to support behavioral and mental health services for students. 

Universities can only receive this grant for two three-year terms in a row, Marker said, so they will no longer have the grant to support the training courses.  

“We’re really trying to make one last push of trainings while we can still offer them under the support of our GLS grant,” Marker said. “We’re just trying to spread the word and continue that awareness.” 

Despite this, Marker said they are working on a mental health sustainability plan to continue educating and training people on suicide prevention. 

Another event happening this month is Fresh Check Day in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. 

The Kent State of Wellbeing is hosting this event Sept. 25. Numerous booths will be placed inside the building so students can come to learn about different aspects of awareness and prevention. 

Janda Roberts, outreach coordinator for the CARES Center, said they are also hosting an upcoming event called Planting Peace at the Student Center Sept. 24. 

“We will be providing plants and resources to students who attend,” Roberts said.

Kayla Gleason is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].