Posted Wednesday, January 5, 2011 --- 11:15 a.m.

Release from the Stoughton Police Department:

The Stoughton Police Department recently received notice of being awarded $5,000 by the Edwin E. & Janet Bryant Foundation to fund the cost of instructors for teaching QPR (Question Persuade Refer) Gatekeeper Training for suicide prevention.

In early August, the Stoughton area had a significant increase in attempted suicides and completed suicides and the trend is continuing. Mayor Donna Olson brought people together from throughout the community to discuss ideas on how to address these concerns. As a result of these meetings, it was decided to provide free suicide prevention training to those front line people who have daily contact with people that may be thinking of suicide.

Contact was made with HOPES (Helping Others Prevent and Educate About Suicide) who offers a free QPR (Question Persuade Refer) training where participants learn the warning signs for suicide, how to offer hope, and how to seek help to save a life.
The QPR training was offered in two sessions on Thursday, October 14th and over 50 people were certified at no cost.

We are currently working with the Safe Community Coalition to set up instructors for teaching QPR (Question Persuade Refer) Gatekeeper Training for suicide prevention. We will strive to get a diverse community of instructors so they can teach our entire community in various settings.

The grant funds will cover train the trainer instructors for the QPR Gatekeeper program, 500 QPR booklets, reference cards and instructor materials. http://www.qprinstitute.com/
The Stoughton Suicide/Crisis Support Agencies are:

Stoughton Mayor’s Office, Stoughton Hospital, Stoughton School District, Stoughton Area Resource Team (START), Dane County Human Services, Stoughton Area Senior Center, Stoughton Area EMS, Stoughton Police Department, Stoughton Police, Fire, and EMS Chaplains, and Covenant Lutheran Church.