County to host suicide prevention talks

The Lincoln County Health Department is hosting two speakers who will discuss suicide prevention.

On Thursday, Aug. 24 and Friday, Aug. 25, Karl Rosston will present on “Preventing Suicide,” covering the impact, warning signs and statistics of suicide in Montana. Rosston is the suicide prevention director from Montana DPHHS.

Thursday’s presentation is free and open to the public from 6 p.m to 8 p.m at the Libby Maki Theatre, while Friday’s presentation is for school faculty and staff only at the Libby Memorial Center from 9 a.m to 11 a.m.

On Friday, Aug. 25 and Saturday, Aug. 26, Joan Schmitt will present “Question, persuade, refer program training” to show how to recognize the warning signs, clues and suicidal communication of a person in trouble, and to teach about available community suicide prevention resources.

Friday’s presentation is for school faculty and staff only at the Libby Memorial Center from 2 p.m to 4 p.m., while Saturday’s presentation is free and open to the public at the Libby Maki Theatre from 10 a.m. to noon.

Continued education units (CEUs) will be available for mental health and school educators, with a maximum of four CEUs available for attending both trainings. Registration must be complete by July 31 in order to receive CEUs.

To register, contact Riley Black, Lincoln County public health nurse, by calling 406-283-2447 or emailing rblack@libby.org.