Suicide Prevention and Awareness is a community issue. In the schools, the HHS and CHS counseling departments have worked hard to help develop a comprehensive suicide prevention and mental health awareness program with the assistance of administration and our Health teachers.
YAM (Youth Aware of Mental health) – Freshman year program run through the Frosh PE courses. Five lessons are presented by outside mental health professionals. For more info on YAM, please contact Mr. Murgel or Josyln Davidson at jdavidson@helenaschools.org
QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) – Sophomore program run through the Health classes by health teachers. The focus of this program is for students to learn how to engage with a classmate who may be having suicidal thoughts and to understand the importance of asking for help from an adult if they feel their friend is at risk.
SOS (Signs of Suicide) – Junior year program, presented in US History classes by counselors. SOS is specifically designed to teach students how to recognize the signs of suicide and mental health struggles in themselves or peers and to encourage students to reach out for help. Students learned ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell).
Additional Activities and Projects to Promote Prevention:
Worried about a friend AND at school? Go immediately to your school counselor.
Worried about a friend AND out of school? Call that friend’s parents. Not sure how to contact the parents? Call 911 in emergency situations.
Check the App Store or Google Play for the following apps:
And as always your HHS, CHS, and PAL school counselors are here to help.
You can contact your child’s school counselor at
HHS
CHS