Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3.)

Working for Whitewater’s Wellness (W3) is supporting Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) training for groups and organizations in the Whitewater community in partnership with Walworth County Health and Human Services (HHS). Recently, W3 Board members received QPR training from two instructors from HHS to gain a deeper understanding of what QPR is and what the training session provides. W3 Board President, Lorelei Bowen, said “QPR training provided tools to effectively communicate with a person contemplating suicide or experiencing a crisis. I think the best part of the program is that it reminds you that ordinary people are capable of providing hope and help to those around them. It is a small way we can look out for each other.”

Question, Persuade, and Refer are the 3 steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. As a QPR-trained Gatekeeper you will learn to: recognize the warning signs of suicide, know how to offer hope, and know how to get help and save a life. To learn more about QPR visit their website: https://qprinstitute.com/

This collaboration stemmed from a subgroup of W3, The Healthy Minds workgroup. The Healthy Minds workgroup is a group of mental health advocates in the Whitewater community that work to end stigma around mental health and increase awareness on the importance of mental health and well-being. One of the goals of the Healthy Minds workgroup was to establish regular suicide prevention training opportunities.

Walworth County HHS will be providing FREE QPR training to anyone in the county. W3 can provide financial assistance to groups or organizations in the Whitewater area to incentivize participation including food, childcare, transportation, or assistance with other program costs. To learn more about hosting QPR training in Whitewater and W3’s support visit our website: https://www.w3wellness.org/qpr-training or email whitewaterwellness@gmail.com.