The Trainer from L&C County had to unexpectedly cancel this training - we will let you know when it is rescheduled!

Apologies for the inconvenience,

~Helena SHRM

Suicide Prevention in the Workplace

QPR Gatekeeper Training – offered virtually and in person!

Intended for people from all walks of life, QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) is a two-hour course designed to teach “gatekeepers” warning signs of a suicidal crisis and how to help. Gatekeepers can include friends, co-workers, supervisors, neighbors, parents, siblings, teachers, coaches, caseworkers, police officers, and firefighters, among many others. The process follows three steps: (1) Question if a person is considering suicide, (2) Persuade them to seek and accept help, and (3) Refer the person to appropriate resources.

Information provided by the QPR Institute and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Learn more about the program here.

Trainer:

Jess Hegstrom

Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Lewis & Clark County

  jhegstrom@lccountymt.gov 

www.lcsuicideprevention.org

A proud survivor advocate for mental health and suicide prevention, Jess Hegstrom believes in the power of turning grief and pain into hope and action for those touched by suicide.

Following the suicide death of a parent and her own struggles with mental health, Ms. Hegstrom came to her heart’s work, starting with a two-year service term in 2017 as an AmeriCorps VISTA for a small Montana school district.

She now serves as the suicide prevention coordinator for Lewis and Clark Public Health (LCPH), the county public health department in Montana’s Queen City. Her work involves implementing evidence-based programs, organizing awareness events, and coordinating targeted prevention, intervention, and postvention efforts. This includes delivering, organizing and overseeing regular mental health and suicide prevention training for three counties. Ms. Hegstrom is a facilitator for Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR), Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Suicide Safe Care Tools.

Through her five-plus years with LCPH, she spearheaded the creation of the first Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) Team in Montana, which rolled out in April 2022. She has been instrumental in developing the growing Safer Communities Montana lethal means campaign and facilitates the Lewis and Clark Suicide Prevention Coalition. She also serves with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Mayor’s Challenge to prevent suicide among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families.

When she’s not at work, Ms. Hegstrom spends time with her boyfriend and cats, and does her best to avoid bodily harm while awkwardly learning aerial acrobatics.