College to Host Veteran Suicide Awareness Workshop

Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day, which amounts to a suicide every 65 minutes. That sobering statistic, released from the Department of Veterans Affairs last year, may even be higher as some of the deaths go unreported.

With a population of 700-plus student veterans in its own classrooms, Pasadena City College has taken the lead in raising awareness of the issue of veteran suicide.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, the college will be hosting a “Gate Keepers” training workshop. Held in PCC’s Creveling Lounge from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the event aims to engage faculty, staff, and students to take an active role in suicide prevention.

“The program strives to ensure that PCC systems, policies, culture, and environment are conducive to students’ mental health,” said Patricia D’Orange-Martin, coordinator of the PCC VRC and veterans counselor. “It will help faculty and staff better support student veterans as they face challenges in transitioning to college life. We will help them become Gate Keepers.”

Although the campus already has its own resources in place to address suicide prevention through its Psychological Services Department, the “Gate Keepers” session will provide specialized training for PCC’s growing student-veteran population.

Suicide prevention training specialists and mental health workers from the Los Angeles Vet Center will be on-hand to facilitate the workshop. Some of the topics of discussion will include: suicide myths and misinformation; risk factors for suicide; and learning the components of the S.A.V.E. model (Signs of suicide, Asking about suicide, Validating feelings, Encouraging help and Expediting treatment).

According to D’Orange-Martin, one-in-four of PCC’s student-veterans every year are referred to mental health services at the VA about suicide.

“I have had many faculty call me over the last five years because they were concerned for a student-veteran in their class and felt ill-prepared on what to do or what to look for as a sign of crises,” she said.

The workshop is sponsored by the PCC VRC and the Academy of Professional Learning. For more information, please contact D’Orange-Martin at (626) 585-7888.