Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Training: Youth

QPR is an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons. It stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. 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.

Youth suicide is a serious concern, as it is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-26. 11% of individuals in this age group seriously consider suicide, and over 3,703 high school students attempt suicide every day. Suicide prevention efforts, such as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training, focus on recognizing warning signs, having critical conversations, and guiding individuals to the help they need.

Charvonne is the Research & Evaluation Program Manager at Illume. She is also currently pursuing her PhD in Social Work at Saint Louis University.

As manager of research and evaluation, Charvonne oversees research and evaluation staff, and leads and supports collaborative research and evaluation efforts within Illume and at Places for People. She guides research efforts to improve social work practices, identify service gaps, workforce needs, and quality of care for persons with behavioral health conditions. She has also managed and supported various evaluation activities for local, state, and federal grants. Charvonne has supported research efforts through journal publications on topics ranging from happiness and well-being to substance use among others. She is also trained in suicide prevention intervention (QPR) and Zero Suicide.

Thanks to a grant from SAMSHA, community members' tickets will be paid for; learners may attend at no charge.

**Please note, Illume: The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence will not be offering Continuing Education Units for this training.

If you have any questions, please contact Illume Coordinator, Rashma James at [email protected]

This project was supported by Grant Number 1H79SM084448-01 from SAMHSA. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the SAMHSA.

Host or Publisher Illume: The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence