Seminar on Suicide Prevention Educates Students

By Essence Walker - Layout Editor

A suicide awareness and prevention information session was held on Tuesday Dec. 3 in the Board Room at Prairie State College. The session was free to the students, faculty and staff, and refreshments were provided to those that attended.

According to the presentation, 5% percent of US adults have attempted suicide and it is the eleventh leading cause of death for men and the nineteenth cause for women.  It is also the second leading cause of death among 20 -24 year-olds, thus likely to affect the populace of college campuses such as Prairie State.

“It was a collaboration with Academic Affairs, Counseling and Academic Advising, Health promotion Programming,” Darcelle Dieudonne, Retention Coordinator, Health Promotion, said. “We saw that there was a need to get information about suicide prevention to the Prairie State community.”

Nancy Dawkins and Christina Santiago, from the Emergency Behavior Health Center at Grand Prairie Services, focused on tips to spot those who are at risk of attempting suicide, stating that people with certain impulsive personality types or mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, eating disorders, depression and anxiety disorders are more likely to make attempts.

Santiago touched specifically on what kinds of habits, such as substance use, precipitate suicide in young people often. She mentioned that many of the hospital visits she made to counsel those who recently attempted suicide were under the influence of some kind of drug. Dawkins used her time to give people tips on what to do if they feel that someone they know is at risk of committing suicide, and more importantly, what not to say to push someone to carry out the act.

For more information on suicide prevention, feel free to stop by the Counseling and Academic Advising Center or to call at 708-709-3506

“Huge thank you to Grand Prairie Services for coming to speak to the campus,” Dieudonne mentioned. “And thanks to the Student Government Association for providing refreshments.”