Photo courtesy of Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Students at Lake Linden-Hubbell High School listen to QPR training at the high school. The next training session is March, 26 at the Copper Shores office in Hancock.

HANCOCK — Copper Shores Community Health Foundation is hosting Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention and Narcan training sessions on 11 a.m., March 26, at their office in Hancock. The training sessions are a part of Copper Shores’s efforts to promote healthy living in the Keweenaw.

The event is open to residents of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga and Ontonagon counties and are designed to show participants how they can help someone in a mental health crisis or a opioid overdose. Participants in the training sessions can expect the QPR portion of the event to last about an hour and the following Narcan training to take 30 minutes.

The QPR training will go over the three step procedure meant to prevent completing suicide and the Narcan training will educate people on how to successfully administer Narcan and save someone’s life from an overdose.

A press release on Copper Shores’s website says QPR is defined by three key tenants.

“Question, Persuade, Refer; three simple steps that anyone can learn to prevent suicide. Participants will learn to recognize warning signs of a suicide crisis, ask direct questions and connect individuals to appropriate support,” the release states.

The host of the event, Copper Shores Prevention Coordinator Lisa Simpson, spoke about how people can get involved and help out the community. “Many people are afraid to talk about suicide,” she said. “This QPR training, again, provides the simple three-step action plan and it demystifies the process and builds the process to intervene effectively.”

At the end of the training, participants will receive certificates for their efforts and become QPR gatekeepers. Those who complete the optional 30-minute Narcan training will also receive a kit with two doses of the life-saving medication.

“When you become a gatekeeper, you help build a broader safety net of support for your community,” Simpson said. “QPR works to ensure that more individuals are prepared to help people in crisis.” Simpson hopes that these efforts to educate the community will help people in the short and long term. “Our community is only as strong as its members,” she said. “We want to have a community network of people who care about other people and to recognize those warning signs.”

Resources are available on the Copper Shores website for those who are struggling, visit the resources page at coppershores.org/resources.

To volunteer with Copper Shores, visit coppershores.org/volunteer for more information.

To register for the training visit coppershores.org/events