By The On-Campus Emergency Assistance Network, Project OCEAN, taught students a three-step method to spot potentially suicidal individuals on Tuesday afternoon.
Project OCEAN encouraged QPR – questioning, persuading and referring – during a suicide-prevention training event at the University Student Union.
With more than 20 attendees at the event, OCEAN peer advocates Cristina Chavez and Alex Villaneda informed attendees of ways to use the QPR method in an effort to prevent suicides.
The advocates said the QPR method involves asking people if they are contemplating suicide, persuading suicidal people not to commit suicide and then referring them to someone who can help them.
Attendees participated in activities where they practiced the QPR method. One activity had each person pair up, analyze a scenario in which someone is suicidal and utilize the QPR method within the specific situation in order to help prevent the person from committing suicide.
After the event was over, all participants at the event received a “QPR Certified” certificate and a free Project OCEAN button.
“[The main purpose of the event is] just to teach people QPR, suicide prevention, promote suicide awareness and make CSULB a safer place for people by having events like these,” Villaneda said.
Senior health science major Mary Salazar said she found out about the event through one of her professors. She added that she thought the event was helpful and informative, and she can already think of someone to recommend future QPR suicide prevention training events to.
“I feel like [my brother] can use it to help him because he has been through a lot, and it will show him that he is not alone,” Salazar said.
Kristina Goosby, a junior health science major, found out about the event through one of her classes.
“It was great!” Goosby said. “I loved it! Now I can recognize the signs of suicide and can tell if the person is suicidal.”
The next QPR suicide prevention training event will be on Thursday, Nov. 6 at the USU in room 304, according Project OCEAN’s website.
For people who are interested in attending the event, it is recommended that they register online at csulb.edu/ocean, but people can walk in if there are open seats available, Villaneda said.
For anyone interested, Project OCEAN also gave attendees the national suicide prevention hotline, which is 1-800-273-8255.
