Beginning next week, Bemidji State University and the Student Center for Health and Counseling will be holding a series of public activities on campus in conjunction with city and county programming for National Suicide Prevention Week.

Tuesday, Sep. 16
TXT4Life, a Minnesota suicide prevention text hotline, will be promoting its services in the Hobson Memorial Union throughout the day.

TXT4Life is a statewide initiative that grew from a state suicide prevention grant awarded to Carlton County Public Health and Human Services in 2010. Since the service began in 2011, contacts to Minnesota’s National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have grown from around 25 per month when the service only took voice calls to more than 400 text messages per month. To use the service, text “Life” to 61222.

Wednesday, Sep. 17
BSU is hosting a Question, Persuade, Refer Gatekeeper Training session beginning at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 107.

This training program presents three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. Just like CPR, this training is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. QPR is the most widely taught gatekeeper training program in the United States, and more than one million adults have been trained in classroom settings in more than 48 states.

Thursday, Sep. 18
BSU’s Student Center for Health and Counseling is hosting a free panel discussion on a variety of issues surrounding mental health awareness at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 100.

The panel is part of the center’s effort to help reduce the social stigmas that are often associated with mental illness. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Lora Bertelson, a licensed psychologist at the center, and will feature BSU students who will talk about their own experiences with mental health-related issues and the challenges they have faced in their own pursuit of help.

“Unfortunately, many people are either ashamed or embarrassed to seek help for themselves,” said Jay Passa, the center’s health education coordinator. “We want to reach out to those students who struggle with mental health-related issues and offer resources to provide a better quality of life.”

In addition to the public events on campus, BSU is holding a number of student-focused events in the Hobson Memorial Union and in the university’s residence halls, including fireside chats and group meetings.

Bemidji State University’s Suicide Prevention Week programming is sponsored by BSU Lifestyle Educators, the American Indian Resource Center, the BSU Dance Team, Campus Activities Board, TXT4Life, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Young Life, BSU’s Lutheran Student Center, the Student Center for Health and Counseling and the Beltrami Area Suicide Prevention Program.

Contact
• Jay Passa, health education coordinator, BSU Center for Student Health and Counseling; (218) 755-2080

Links
• BSU Student Center for Health and Counseling
• TXT4Life
• QPR Institute Gatekeeper Training