Haines school counselor Lindsey Moore and Lynn Canal Counseling Service case manager Kelsey Taylor attended the second annual training workshop for the Suicide Awareness, Prevention, and Postvention grant recipients statewide, held at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage last week.
The training is hosted by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council.
The Haines school district receives $25,000 annually for for three years for suicide prevention programs.
Last year, the school used the money to train K-12 staff in recognizing the signs and symptoms of at-risk students, and how to intervene. The money was also used to sponsor mentoring activities. Plans for this and next year include working with Lynn Canal Counseling Service and expanding into the community, including holding community awareness and education trainings, Moore said. Kelsey stayed an extra day and completed a QPR (question, persuade, refer) gatekeeper trainer certification course. As a certified instructor, she can train people on how to appropriately speak with a suicidal person. School staff has completed training in a similar program.