Our Klickitat and VA offer Suicide Prevention Training

“We have a severe lack of mental health providers in the community,” said Joanna Turner, Our Klickitat’s prevention program director. “We have to be able to support each other, and this is one way we can do that.”

Turner was introduced to the VA’s suicide prevention programs when she met Ashley Taylor, an Army Veteran and a member of the Suicide Prevention Team who serves the Columbia River Gorge area as the VA’s Community Engagement & Partnerships Coordinator. The two attended a 2024 Veterans’ Day event at the Elks Lodge in White Salmon and started a conversation.

The new events will be modeled after the VA’s S.A.V.E. program, which has four pillars:

1. Know the signs that indicate a Veteran might be thinking about suicide.
2. Ask the most important question of all - “Are you thinking of killing yourself?”
3. Validate the Veteran’s experience.
4. Encourage treatment and expedite getting help.

These practices will be applied to all ages and backgrounds for the training. Youth, parents, grandparents, Veterans, educators, friends, and community members are all encouraged to participate.

According to the 2024 County Health Rankings for Washington State, the ratio of mental health providers to people in Klickitat County is just 1 to 529. Ratios for Klickitat and Skamania counties are two to three times worse than the U.S. average.

“This is not enough,” Turner said. She said these collaborative events can help bridge the gap. “Mental health is a priority for all of us,” she said. “This is a way we can serve the entire county and share the same message and resources.”

All sessions will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with childcare and dinner provided for participants. The event locations and dates are:

• Lyle Activity Center on Tuesday, March 11,
• Klickitat Community Center on Monday, March 17,
• White Salmon Senior Services on Tuesday, April 15,
• Goldendale Library on Thursday, April 17,
• Glenwood School on Tuesday, April 22, and
• Trout Lake School (with Trout Lake Cares) on Wednesday, May 14.

“Everybody is welcome. This is a safe space to learn new skills,” Turner said. “We know this is a hard topic, and it is scary. I want people to feel more resourced and more capable of interacting with somebody who is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.”

In addition to the training, participants will also have the opportunity to go home with some preventative items. Gun locks and medication lock boxes will be available along with Naloxone, a medication to reverse the effects of an Opioid overdose. All items will be free of charge.

Our Klickitat regularly partners with other youth prevention organizations all across the county, including Klickitat Lyle Against Substance Abuse Coalition (KLSAKC), Klickitat Community Link Project (K-Link), and the Coalition for Preventing Abuse in Klickitat County (C-PAKC). This network and Our Klickitat’s fiscal sponsor, Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP), have helped the group reach a large geographic area to spread suicide prevention awareness.

For more information, contact Joanna Turner by email at dfc@wagap.org or call 503-863-7763.