Healthy Community Initiative

by Carrissa Glarner as a Guest Columnist for the Northfield News

Before I completed Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training, the idea of talking to people about suicide intimidated me. If it had arisen in conversation, I might have worried I’d say the wrong thing and avoid the topic. But after completing the 90-minute online training in February, I feel more comfortable and prepared to find ways to talk about the subject and potentially save a life.

I’m one of four staff members at Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) who have recently received training through the QPR Institute, a nationally recognized organization that aims to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by teaching people how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

QPR is purposefully named after CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), an emergency lifesaving procedure used when a person’s heart stops beating. The idea is that anyone in the community can learn QPR. You don’t have to be a doctor or a mental health professional to recognize the warning signs of suicide, and you don’t have to diagnose anyone. The training gives you the confidence to recognize that someone is in crisis and direct them to a professional who can help them.

One of things that surprised me during the training was learning about the history of suicide and how far back it has been recorded. It is part of the human condition, which is all the more reason for us to become more comfortable talking about it. Another thing that surprised me was how much more comfortable I felt once I’d picked up some pocket “one-liners” to use when discussing suicide. Instead of worrying about saying the wrong thing, or avoiding asking how someone is feeling, I learned that people are often screaming inside for someone to notice what’s going on with them, and saying things like “I care about what happens to you” can make a difference.

So far this school year, HCI has helped train 268 staff from the Northfield Public Schools in QPR, and trainings are planned for this spring with staff from Faribault Public Schools and Rice County. QPR training is available to businesses, organizations, and individuals at no cost to them. We encourage everyone in the community to consider taking the training, especially if you interact with larger groups of people through social services, public health, and the schools.

For more information about QPR training or other mental health training opportunities in Rice County, you can email my colleague Molly at molly@hci-mn.org. You can also learn more about QPR at qprinstitute.com.