Wenatchee

Suicide prevention training Saturday

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of North Central Washington will hold its first training session on Saturday to help people recognize the warning signs of suicide.

The nonprofit organization hopes to train more than 1,000 people in NCW through Gatekeeper Training, a nationally certified program. The program is designed to teach people how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a suicidal person the help they need.

“We want this to be like CPR training and the Heimlich maneuver in that everyone knows how to react when they see signs or symptoms,” said Dr. Julie Rickard, director of the Suicide Prevention Coalition and Behavioral Medical Program manager for Columbia Valley Community Health.

Saturday’s session will train 24 community members who have already been selected. They will then be required to train additional people, who will train more people. The grant-funded program requires that 1,000 people be trained in Chelan and Douglas counties by October 2013.

— Michelle McNiel, World staff