Home Front Military Network has long been concerned about the overwhelming number of active-duty personnel and veterans who have tragically lost their lives to suicide. Part of our mission is to connect active-duty service members, veterans, and their families to helpful resources in the community, so today our spotlight is on the work being done by Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention, an organization that has been serving the Pikes Peak region since 1993. Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership is one of the 47 partners that form the Partner Network we facilitate at HFMN; it works to unite the community in addressing suicide through education, intervention, and postvention.
Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention offers free suicide resources and suicide support services and programs such as:
Awareness:
- Setting up resource tables
- Resource package drop-off
- Panel discussions and suicide prevention presentations
Education:
- Education through employer suicide prevention training
- QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer): This is a one-hour training (for certification) covering warning signs, how to talk about suicide and how to refer someone for help.
- Mental health first aid
- Perfectly Imperfect Support Rooted in Love: PPSP offers these workshops for parents and caregivers to help them temper expectations, ground themselves in stressful situations, and aid their children who may be struggling with anxiety and depression to do the same.
- ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training): This is a two-day, two-trainer workshop teaching intervention skills to caregivers such as family members, friends, and other community members.
- Trauma Informed Suicide Prevention: This is a four hour workshop that arms helpers with information and techniques for working with a person who has experienced trauma and who is having suicidal thoughts.
- Verbal Crisis Intervention: This eight hour training workshop focuses on verbal de escalation techniques.
Support:
- Community Resource Liaison Desk
- Groups for Peer Support and Coping Skill Development: These groups are dedicated in honor of 2LT Jeffrey Carl Graham who was killed in action in Khaldiyah, Iraq in 2004, and his brother Kevin Alan Graham, Senior ROTC Cadet, who died by suicide in 2003. Their parents, retired Major General Mark and his wife Carol, speak at the local, national, and international levels to address the stigma of seeking treatment for psychological illnesses. For more information on Jeffrey and Kevin Graham Support Services, or to seek help through the program, call 719 573-7447.
- Individual therapy: This is made possible through the Susan Golding Counseling Program, a program that provides free individual counseling to individuals who are under-insured or have no insurance, people whose lives have been impacted by suicide, or anyone who is between providers and needs short-term help.
- Postvention Suicide Loss Services: Research shows that individuals who have been exposed to suicide are at risk of engaging in suicidal behavior. Postvention as Prevention is a one hour training teaching the best practice postvention supports that can help reduce the risk of additional tragedy.
- Peer Support Services (Youth and Adult)
- Surviving the Storm Grief Group: This is a weekly support group to give young people a safe space in which to process grief after the suicide of a family member. Unresolved grief can lead to sleep problems, failing grades, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts; the group aims to help children and teens “establish a new normal and to stop or prevent self-destructive behaviors.”
- Teen Mentors
- Teen Suicide Prevention Group: The mission of this group is “to address adolescent suicide prevention through community and school outreach projects that encourage healthy coping mechanisms and promote awareness of teen suicide.”
Between 2001 and 2021 30,177 active-duty personnel and veterans died by suicide. Their tragic losses have been felt by our nation and by their communities in general, and by their families and friends in particular. We are proud to partner with Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention, which receives all of its support through donations, grants, and a massive volunteer effort. If you would like more information about any of the PPSP programs or support services, you can connect with them here or call (719) 573-7447. PPSP welcomes donations and volunteers.
Home Front Military Network connects active-duty service members, veterans, and their families to resources and emergency financial assistance through our trusted community partners. Contact us for more information.