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Bold Moves Against Suicide – Louisville sets record during National Suicide Prevention Week

For the years 2008-2014, Jefferson County ranked 11th out of 50 peer counties in terms of highest rates of suicide. This statistic inspired the Louisville Health Advisory Board – a cross-sector group of community organizations and leaders working to improve physical, mental and social well-being for residents of Louisville – to come together and set an objective to design and implement a community-wide, evidence-based and data-driven program to eliminate suicides in Louisville. This group sought to save lives and help Louisville set a world record by training the most individuals in one week in the technique of Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR). Similar to CPR, QPR is a 90-minute training course designed to support an emergency response to someone in crisis, and it can save lives. Between September 9-15, 2018, 117 training events were facilitated in 50 locations across the community – in community centers, colleges, churches, places of work and more – to train over 2,200 Louisville residents in suicide prevention.