HelpLine’s 49th annual meeting, themed “Guarding the Sacred: Life,” will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 7991 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center. The event is free and open to the public; advance registration is encouraged.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and this year’s meeting will feature a moderated panel discussion on mental health, depression, and suicide prevention. Panelists will discuss their personal and professional experiences with suicide and depression as well as strategies for supporting those with depression and/or suicidal ideation. The panel will feature educators, activists and mental health professionals, including representation from:
• Delaware Morrow Mental Health Recovery Services Board
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Delaware and Morrow Counties
• Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation
• Olentangy Local School District
HelpLine will also launch its newest community-based suicide prevention training — QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade and Refer — the three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. The goal of the free, 60-minute training is to identify and interrupt the crisis and direct that person to the proper care.
“Similar to the training for CPR which helps save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help,” said HelpLine Executive Director Sue Hanson. “The more community members we can train in QPR, the more lives will be saved.”
The event will culminate the HelpLine Board of Directors business meeting and recognition of its staff, community partners, and annual impact in the areas of information and referral, suicide, sexual assault and violence prevention. Additionally, the annual Katherine Gharrity Community Service and Lucile Ubben Volunteer of the Year recipients will also be awarded.
For more information or to RSVP, visit helplinedelmor.org or contact Marketing and Development Director Tamika Vinson-Reid at (740) 363.1835, ext. 305.
As the community’s only 24/7 resource, HelpLine the go-to for supporting and empowering change. Its highly trained specialists offer compassionate support to help meet the needs of anyone in crisis, connecting them with the right resources and empowering them to thrive. Our prevention programs address suicide and depression, sexual assault, child sexual abuse and family violence to influence change in our community. These programs are rooted in our relationships with local nonprofits and agencies, giving us the connections and knowledge to get community members the support, education and volunteer opportunities they’re looking for.
HelpLine is a contract provider of the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and partially funded by SourcePoint. A United Way Partner, HelpLine is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology, National Alliance of Information & Referral Systems and certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. For more information, visit: www.HelpLinedelmor.org.
