The Riley County Health Department recently received $35,000 from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services to assist with suicide awareness and prevention work.
Funds will be used as stipends to hire at least 20 ambassadors to deliver a presentation to community groups in Riley County, which is a collaboration with the Flint Hills Volunteer Center Suicide Prevention, Awareness, Compassion, Training (PACT) program. It will feature video testimonials from local residents and provide tools to help recognize when someone may be experiencing suicidal thoughts.
The health department says additional information is needed to create the presentation and training materials. They’re asking anyone who lives, works or receives healthcare services in RIley County to take a survey about suicide prevention awareness. A link to that survey is available here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7338914/Riley-County-Suicide-Assessment-Survey.
“Armed with knowledge of where we’re starting, we will work to connect those in need to support services and empower allies to intervene when someone needs help. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. We sincerely appreciate your time and support,” said Health Department Director Julie Gibbs.
When the presentation is complete, each of the 20 trained ambassadors will be asked to present at least once to a community group, with the goal of five presentations each.
