Group following up on youth suicide prevention

Participants in the March 25 public workshop on preventing youth suicide will meet Monday, 6 p.m. in the Wahkiakum High School Library to continue efforts to make children safe.

On March 25, Mary Jadwisiak, Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) field coordinator for Clark and Cowlitz counties, led the group through a 45-minute training on signs of suicide among youth and how to respond.

Representatives of local mental health agencies, schools, the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Department and other organizations talked about how their groups address youth suicide and its contributing risk factors.

At Jadwisiak's prompting, the group agreed to meet again and mount a publicity campaign to identify safe zones in the schools and the community and to publicize resources through the Wahkiakum Community Network's newsletter.

Anyone interested in working on the issue is invited, organizers said.