By: Noah Nunez
General Reporter
Suicide is one of the deadliest killers the country is facing. With looser gun restrictions and the stigma surrounding suicide, hopelessness is very common.
With the fight against suicide feeling just as hopeless, this is where the Question Persuade Referral initiative comes in with the goal of helping people learn the skills needed to prevent suicide, with the training held on campus being presented by Ashley Simon, a graduate.
“I want people to feel cared about,” Ashley said. “I like helping people change their thinking. I like helping them understand that there’s more to life than maybe the thoughts that they can have for a little bit of time.”
The presentation and training began by addressing stigmas surrounding suicide and how those who are near suicide may be seen by not only those close to them but those who want to help too.
Namely, the beginning was about denouncing many of those stigmas and how their proliferation in society can do more harm to those already in danger.
“The more clues and signs that you observe, the greater the risk that someone may be suicidal, and when we talk about suicide risks and signs, we want to make sure that we view attention-seeking behavior as a myth people hesitate to support because they may be viewed as attention-seeking,” Simon said.
Now, each aspect of the QPR initiative is important in its own way. However, the one that tricks up people the most would be the persuading aspect.
It is one thing to build up the courage to ask the questions and learn what someone who is having these thoughts intends to do. It is another thing altogether to act on them and get them to reflect on why they are thinking this way.
“I know how uncomfortable it is, and I do want everyone to feel comfortable being able to ask. Like I said, if you’re not the best person to ask there is other people that can. I know it feels invasive and I know it feels uncomfortable, but it is life or death, quite literally,” Simon said.
After the presentation, those in attendance were given a certification that confirmed their practice and training with QPR, but being in the situation can be very different than the training may appear.
Suicide is still a tough subject for many out there, and so discussing it in these ways may lead to fear in the viewers, but they often respond with a grateful attitude to the program.
“Not everyone has the training and education and the comfort to ask. People seem very grateful, and then a lot of people too disclose that they know someone that they think is struggling and they want to find the ways to have these conversations with them,” Simon said.
Many attribute the issues surrounding suicide to our society’s discussion of it and the stigmas surrounding it, and how they feed them every year.
However, that is not the real issue; the real issue is choosing not to face those stigmas, choosing not to go and learn how to talk about it, choosing to stay comfortable and ignore the uncomfortable questions.
