University Counseling Services Will Use Grant Money for Suicide Prevention Training
Staff at University Counseling Services (UCS) will be receiving some additional training thanks to a grant from the state of Missouri.
Brian Krylowicz, director of UCS, was recently awarded a $2,800 grant from the Missouri Department of Mental Health as part of the Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. Krylowicz said he plans to apply the grant to the current suicide prevention program, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), by funding training for two counselors at UCS and two faculty or staff members allowing them to become certified instructors. Currently, only two staff members at UCS are trained as certified instructors of QPR.
The QPR program is designed to help educate people about what to do if they come across someone that is suicidal and how to be more comfortable helping in these situations.
With this grant, Krylowicz said he hopes that QPR’s suicide prevention message will reach more students on campus and aid in preventing suicides of those connected to Truman.
The focus of this effort is to overcome the regularity of suicidal thoughts on college campuses. In 2008, the Missouri College Health Behavior Survey found 15.5 percent of Truman students experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year.
Brian Krylowicz, director of UCS, was recently awarded a $2,800 grant from the Missouri Department of Mental Health as part of the Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. Krylowicz said he plans to apply the grant to the current suicide prevention program, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), by funding training for two counselors at UCS and two faculty or staff members allowing them to become certified instructors. Currently, only two staff members at UCS are trained as certified instructors of QPR.
The QPR program is designed to help educate people about what to do if they come across someone that is suicidal and how to be more comfortable helping in these situations.
With this grant, Krylowicz said he hopes that QPR’s suicide prevention message will reach more students on campus and aid in preventing suicides of those connected to Truman.
The focus of this effort is to overcome the regularity of suicidal thoughts on college campuses. In 2008, the Missouri College Health Behavior Survey found 15.5 percent of Truman students experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year.
