The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Cheyenne Class of 2018-2019 receives QPR certification.
QPR – what is that? It stands for Question. Persuade. Refer. These are three steps that anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Rhianna Brand, Director of Operations for Grace For 2 Brothers Foundation, along with Grief Support Coordinator, Dan Hedrick, provided training for the current Leadership Cheyenne class. In addition, there were also Leadership Cheyenne Steering Committee members trained.
Rhianna had this to say, “Providing the QPR Gatekeeper Training to the Leadership Cheyenne class is an incredible partnership that Grace For 2 Brothers Foundation is honored to have. These are leaders in our community and for them to have the knowledge on how to have key conversations when someone is suicidal, it will not only save lives that they will come into contact with, but will also help lift the stigma on talking about mental health and suicide. The Leadership Cheyenne class is made up of influential people in our community and with this QPR Certification, discussions that took place today will help lead the community in further conversations that it’s okay to not be okay, that you’re not alone in this and we (as a collective community) are here to help you through.”
Wyoming is one of the nation’s leaders in suicides. It’s time to stand up and do something and change that.
- Over 38,000 people in the U.S. die by suicide every year.
- A person dies by suicide about every 13.7 minutes in the U.S. An attempt is estimated to be made once every 29-32 seconds.
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students and the third leading cause of death among all youth 15-24 years old.
Today’s training gave 28 more people the ability to watch for signs to help reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives. Leadership Cheyenne Steering Committee Chairman, Morgan Alkire, thought this was a great addition to one of the classes, which hasn’t been done before. “The Leadership Cheyenne Steering Committee are so pleased that the participants took their education one step further with the certification of QPR. It is wonderful to give an additional 28 community members the tools to be able to react effectively if ever in a critical situation of being able to stop suicide.”
What else can be done to help? Learn more about two Federal Bills: HR2345 (passed in research) and S 2712 (First Farmers Act), both of which help those in need before they feel like there is no hope. Other bills that are being worked on are a Music Therapy Medicaid Waiver and the Mental Health Parity Bill.
Learn more about Grace For 2 Brothers Foundation and how you can get involved here. Follow Grace on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
————————————–
The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Leadership Cheyenne program is for a diverse group of business professionals who participate in a challenging, interactive and thought-provoking nine-month educational program, followed by a three-month event planning process. The program is designed to promote a better understanding of the community, build and enhance leadership skills, and develop a strong network of future community leaders. Leadership Cheyenne encourages participants to share the benefit of their own experiences while they also learn from others. The goal is to inform participants about the diversity of our community in regards to government, education, business, economic development, and social issues. Learn more about Leadership Cheyenne here. The 2019-2020 class selection will begin in June 2019. You can email Angi Lund at angil@cheyennechamber.org for more information.
Trending Now
