Rotary clubs, suicide prevention coalition form partnership

For the first time ever, all three Gig Harbor Rotary clubs have joined forces on a community project that focuses on suicide prevention.

It’s a cause members are confident will help the community respond to a problem that affects people from all walks of life.

The Gig Harbor Midday Rotary, the Gig Harbor North Rotary and the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor have partnered with the Gig Harbor & Key Peninsula Suicide Prevention Coalition to raise awareness for suicide prevention in the community.

“There needs to be more vehicles for the community to be aware of what’s happening,” Bob Anderson, chairman of the Midday chapter’s Youth Services Committee, said about the local suicide rates. “We need public participation in suicide prevention.”

While several Midday Rotary members were also involved with the coalition, Anderson was the one who initiated the partnership between the two groups after becoming a facilitator with the coalition.

“The Midday (Rotary) has played a leading role in providing fund support for the coalition,” Anderson said.

The goal of the partnership is to provide more awareness of the issues and more advertising for the work already being done by the coalition, he said.

Currently, the coalition provides free SafeTALK sessions at local high schools and in meetings open to the community.

These sessions are available for anyone age 15 and older. The three-hour sessions provide information on recognizing the signs in someone who is suicidal, how to follow up with the individual and how to help them get to a safe place.

The Lifesavers Club, at Peninsula High School, provides a similar informational session, said Pam Martin, a health technician at Peninsula.

Their talks cover much of the same ground as the SafeTALK sessions, but are less intense, lasting about 45 minutes. The talks are given in the Peninsula health classes by student club members twice a year.

The Lifesavers Club has had a goal for several years to increase the awareness of suicide prevention in local middle schools. School administrators at the middle-school level have become more receptive and the club is hoping to partner with coalition members to give a joint presentation, Martin said.

The goal of the Rotary clubs is to have three to four community awareness events throughout the year, along with the talks at the high schools. The clubs are also looking to do other events outside of the SafeTALK sessions, and have entertained the idea of hosting a suicide awareness walk, Anderson said.

“There’s such a need to reach parents,” Martin said, echoing Anderson’s goal of increasing community awareness and participation. “On a parent level it would be so helpful to spread this information.”

“It is vitally important for the community to become aware of suicide and the methods to prevent it,” Anderson said. “The more suicide is hidden, the more apt it is to happen.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Rotary clubs, suicide prevention coalition form partnership."