Community programs set on preventing suicide

The Vancouver chapter of the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) will hold informational programs on suicide prevention next month in Vancouver and Longview.

Jerri Clark, who almost lost a loved one to suicide last winter, will speak as part of the NAMI SW WA event, Lift Up Life: We all Have a Role in Suicide Prevention, 6-8:30 p.m., Sept. 8, at the Clark County Family YMCA, 11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver. This multi-sensory event will include performances by dancers from Groove Nation, which developed a series of choreographed works for its own suicide awareness programming in 2016. The event will also include practices for self-care, personal stories, new insights from neuroscience and a panel-led community conversation.

A repeat performance of this programming, with a local panel to lead the question-and-answer portion of the event, will be held in Longview, 6-8:30 p.m., Sept. 12, at the Grove Alliance Church, 2116 E Kessler Blvd.

Clark and Cowlitz counties each will host a second program, Listen and Share: Personal Stories about Suicide. Mary Jadwisiak, Director of Holding the Hope, will speak alongside individuals with personal stories. This informal community of sharing will include dance performances, music and time for all to be heard. Longview’s event will be 6-8:30 p.m., Sept. 19, at the Grove Alliance Church, and Vancouver’s event is Sept. 26, Saint Paul Lutheran Church, 13309 Franklin Street.

NAMI SW WA welcomes community members of all ages and from all areas and backgrounds to attend these events.

During September, residents of Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania counties will find painted rocks in various locations in shops, parks, and other locations.

Lift Up Life will conclude with a silent suction to benefit NAMI SW WA, 5-8 p.m., on Oct. 6, at Firefly Atelier, 309 E 15th Street, Suite C, Vancouver. This informal open house will include refreshments and time to consider how challenging stories can inspire art and how art can help with healing.

Throughout September, NAMI SW WA also will be sponsoring movie showings. The showings will be in multiple locations in Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, and details are online at NAMISWWA.org.

NAMI SW WA is dedicated to helping all people affected by mental illness through education, support, and advocacy.