MCC Students Complete Suicide Prevention Gatekeepers Training
Manchester, CT (November 19, 2013) – MCC students received certificates of completion after Haley Shoop, Program Coordinator for ERASE, Inc. (East of the River Action for Substance Abuse Elimination) trained them in QPR. Students who received the training are part of the F.I.R.S.T (Foundation in Retention, Success and Transition) program at MCC.
QPR is a CPR-equivalent for mental health emergencies. QPR – Question, Persuade, and Refer – defines the three action steps when suicide warning signs are observed. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Since its inception in 1996, more than 1,000,000 lay and professional suicide prevention ‘gatekeepers’ have been trained in QPR.
ERASE collaborates with MCC on the Garret Lee Smith Suicide Prevention grant and the Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative. MCC counselor, Joseph Navarra, coordinates the CT Campus Suicide Prevention Initiative (CCSPI) at MCC, a counseling program on suicide prevention.
FIRST (Foundation in Retention, Success, and Transition) is a cohort learning model for first time full time students enrolled at MCC .
Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The college offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. The main, park-like campus, which is easily accessible from I-84, is also the home of Great Path Academy, a middle college high school, serving grades 9-12. The college’s second location, the Manchester Community College Arts and Education Center, opened in downtown Manchester in 2012. MCC takes pride in the quality of programs and the many ways we’ve helped students, families, businesses and community grow over the past five decades.
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