'Suicide: Signs and Solutions' set for next weekend

Fifth Avenue Christian Church is hosting Suicide: Signs and Solutions, a conference beginning Friday, Oct. 18, including question, persuade and refer gatekeeper training at 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“It’s more about the preventive side then there is a little bit on the interventive back end of things,” Fifth Avenue Christian Church Youth Minister Patrick Carey said.

The training will be led by Gary Zustiak, D.Min., who is the head of the psychology and counseling department from Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri. 

Carey said Zustiak has been leading these conferences for the past 40-plus years.

Questions, persuade and refer training, or QPR, is a way for people to recognize the signs of suicidal intentions, asking the right questions, the help people to get over the hump of considering suicide and the resources available, Carey said.

“Most people’s issue is that they can’t identify the signs. They don’t really know what to do when they see them. It is  kind of an uncomfortable thing, especially in Montana,” he said. “So that is Friday, and that has a (teacher) certification that comes with it and so we are pushing it for the schools to come out.”

He added that the certification opportunity can benefit those teachers who aren’t able to get to training that is available in Billings. 

Saturday, Oct. 19, from 9 to 10 a.m. a theological perspective will be presented about what the Bible says about suicide. 

“Anything that has a 2,000-year-plus history, there are messy parts, so we’ll go into that, what does the Bible actually say about suicide and how has the church handled it historically, and how we got to the point we are now,” Carey said.

Following the theological perspective family grief training at will be presented from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for anyone who knows someone who has been affected by suicide and how people can be alongside them and help them cope.

“It’s hard to meet somebody who lives around here who hasn’t been directly affected by suicide … because it is such a huge issue in this part of the country,” he said. “We want to, right before we go into the holiday season where things get kind of messy for people and hard and winters get long and dark, to provide a resource for people.”

He said this being the first year the church has done this, but he would really like to see a lot of people get certified and trained through this.

He added that this is an ongoing need and that also needs to be taught across the board, as well as being taught in the schools.

People can register on Fifth Avenue Chirstian Church’s website at https://fifthavenuechristian.churchcenter.com/groups/seminars/suicide-signs-and-solutions or call 265-7337. Space is limited to 50 people.