The three Rotary Clubs in Juneau teamed up to host the training session for the public, part of a Rotary move to promote suicide awareness and prevention across the state.
“The Anchorage Downtown Rotary actually applied for and received a Rotary district grant from Rotary International to promote suicide prevention statewide, so our current district governor is from that club,” Karen Morgan, president of the downtown Rotary club, explained. “So he came and really promoted it.”
Juneau responded. Students — lured by the promise of credit in health class, and extra credit if they brought a friend — parents, teachers, Rotarians and many in the mental health field crammed into the library to learn how to be a better gatekeeper for their friends and family.
“I was surprised to see so many people here,” said Charity MacKinnon, a Rotarian who helped organize the event. “I guess for me, it just kind of reinforced that it is an issue, people understand it’s an issue, and we’re all doing our best to do something about it.”
In his two-hour presentation, Gallanos explained one of the basic principles behind QPR: Most people considering suicide send out warning signs beforehand. If friends and family are attuned to those signs, they can help by asking the person their intentions, trying to persuade them out of it and referring them to professional help.
Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition member Kevin Ritchie said he hopes the training will continue.
“The biggest thing is getting through those stigmas of talking about suicide,” he said. “People can feel really uncomfortable, and you have to make them comfortable.”
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