The HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties along with the Southeastern Utah Health Department are sponsoring Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) training on February 12 at 6 pm in the Carbon High School auditorium. The training is open to everyone but will have an emphasis on training for spouses and partners of first responders.

In a recent survey it was concluded that more firefighters and policemen will die of suicide than in the line of duty. In 2017 alone, 103 firefighters and 140 police officers lost their lives to suicide while 93 firemen and 129 officers died in the line of duty.

Being the first ones on the scene, assessing the situation and sometimes dealing with the aftermath of what has just happened weighs heavy on first responders, and sometimes they keep it inside not telling friends or family.

“In a rural area every address has a story”, Fiztgerald Petersen, Price City Fire Chief said. “ When a person goes out on a call here, chances are they know the person, you don’t usually get that in a big city.”

QPR is an evidence based suicide prevention program developed by Paul Quinnett a clinical psychiatrist in 1995. It has three main focal points: Question their suicidal intent, Persuade them to live and that they should seek help and Refer them to a specialist where they can receive the help that they need.

The training will take place in the auditorium at Carbon High at 6pm. There will be a drawing of for gift certificates donated by Cindi Curry of Balance Rock Eatery.

For further questions you can reach out to Amanda McIntosh with the HOPE Squad at (435) 636-1153.