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150 sign up for suicide prevention training
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signed the Suicide Prevention Awareness Week proclamation Thursday last week, just as a three-day prevention training started at the Saipan World Resort.
About 150 people from both public and private schools on Saipan attended the training that was hosted by the Public School System.
According to Yvonne Pangelinan, PSS associate commissioner, the proclamation was an indication of the PSS’ commitment to intervening with students who are feeling helpless.
“It is critically important to train our staff and give them those skills so that they could intervene and respond,” she said, emphasizing the need to tackle the issue as a community. “The work that the community does together is not just for the students but also for those that came face to face with the reality that hopelessness can overcome [students].”
In her closing remarks, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muña said that just hearing reports about a suicide of a stranger affects and deeply saddens her.
“In a community like ours, we have people that care. We have a lot of people that care. We have a lot of people that can help and [the public should know] that there are resources out there and people you can talk to,” she said. “There is no such thing as nobody to talk to.”
She noted that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, has a suicide hotline in different languages, including Chamorro. It is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
