I had a heart-breaking conversation with a library director this week who was reeling from a two recent local deaths from suicide, and looking for resources for potential programming to help her community address significant mental health concerns.  Lots of communities are facing this crisis, and I thought that some of the information I gathered for her might be useful to others.

In addition I want to call attention to the Winter Wellness Fair that the River Falls Public Library developed, which included the panel presentation “Empowering Student Well-being: Insights from the Front Lines of School Mental Health.”   You can watch it here on the Library’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdUWItnJIHQ

Other organizations you can partner with for potential programming:

NAMI Wisconsin: 

• They have quite a few programs and support groups that are available online!  Some of the offerings are longer classes (that meet several times). They also have a one-time program called Ending the Silence that is geared especially towards middle and high school students.  https://namiwisconsin.org/support-and-education/presentations/nami-ending-the-silence/  It is available virtually, too:  https://ets.nami.org/
• The local chapter is NAMI Chippewa Valley:  https://www.namicv.org/ and they have support groups, etc.

QPR/Suicide Prevention:

• Question, Persuade, Refer is a 1-hour evidence-based suicide prevention training You can find QPR instructors near you on the site:  https://qprinstitute.com/.  There are quite a few in our area.  IFLS hosted a QPR training for library staff several years ago.
• To find other potential local partners, check out Prevent Suicide Wisconsin

Mental Health First Aid

• There is also Youth Mental Health First Aid!  5-7 hour course.
• Link to general website:  https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
• It looks like a lot of the courses are available virtually.
• UW Madison Extension also has some options:  https://health.extension.wisc.edu/mental-health-first-aid/
• Wisconsin Safe and Health Schools Center has some options for Youth Mental Health First Aid, schools/communities can apply for training:  https://www.wishschools.org/resources/youth-mental-health-first-aid.cfm