Bemidji State's Suicide Prevention Week activities begin Monday

Sept. 14--BEMIDJI -- Beginning Monday, Bemidji State University and the Student Center for Health and Counseling will host a series of public activities on campus in conjunction with city and county programming for National Suicide Prevention Week. In addition to the public events on campus, BSU is hosting a number of student-focused events in the Hobson Memorial Union and in the university's residence halls, including fireside chats and group meetings.

The schedule of activities is as follows:

Tuesday

TXT4Life, a Minnesota suicide prevention text hotline, will be promoting its services in the Hobson Memorial Union throughout the day.

TXT4Life is a statewide initiative that grew from a state suicide prevention grant awarded to Carlton County Public Health and Human Services in 2010. Since the service began in 2011, contacts to Minnesota's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have grown from around 25 per month when the service only took voice calls to more than 400 text messages per month. To use the service, text "Life" to 61222.

Wednesday

BSU is hosting a Question, Persuade, Refer Gatekeeper Training session beginning at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 107.

This training program presents three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Just like CPR, this training is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. QPR is the most widely taught gatekeeper training program in the United States, and more than one million adults have been trained in classroom settings in more than 48 states.

Thursday, Sep. 18

BSU's Student Center for Health and Counseling is hosting a free panel discussion on a variety of issues surrounding mental health awareness at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 100.

The panel is part of the center's effort to help reduce the social stigmas that are often associated with mental illness. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Lora Bertelson, a licensed psychologist at the center, and will feature BSU students who will talk about their own experiences with mental health-related issues and the challenges they have faced in their own pursuit of help.

___

(c)2014 The Bemidji Pioneer (Bemidji, Minn.)

Visit The Bemidji Pioneer (Bemidji, Minn.) at www.bemidjipioneer.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services