A National Suicide Prevention advocate will speak at Ball State in response to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s reports that suicide rates peak in the spring.
“That spike from winter to spring is important to point out,” said psychology doctoral student and event coordinator Chris Drapeau. “I think it is really important because you don’t have to be an expert to prevent suicide, but I think it is important that people educate themselves on what to look for and what to do.”
National advocate Heidi Bryan, who is also a suicide attempt survivor and suicide loss survivor, will speak at 7:30 p.m. today at Pruis Hall.
Drapeau arranged the event along with sponsors including the Counseling Center and East Central Indiana Suicide Counseling Center.
During Bryan’s speech, information will be given on how the attendees can prevent suicide, Drapeau said.
“It’s important to hear her story just to understand what she went through and [how] she coped with the people who she lost and her own issues,” Drapeau said. “A lot of times in the media, we hear about the people who die, but we don’t often hear stories about the people who survive and go on to have what we would consider normal, healthy lives after. There are other options besides suicide.”
Ball State’s suicide prevention hotline 1800-273-8255 (TALK).
