Increasing Awareness: Preventing Risk

With the continued support and partnership of Ana Berrios-Allison from Ohio State University’s Career Counseling and Support Services, CRIS’ Refugee Health and Wellness Program and Senior Program offered another session of the REACH suicide prevention training, this time focused on Bhutanese Nepali seniors. In addition to the ongoing high rates of suicide across the Bhutanese Nepali  community, seniors can be especially at risk due to isolation, loneliness, health issues, and difficulty or inability to learn English and be employed.Through this training, seniors had the opportunity to voice concern about the issues related to suicide that they see in their community, become equipped with tools to help recognize risk factors and warning signs, and gained an understanding of how and where to refer community members in need of services. By addressing suicide through regular trainings and conversations, CRIS’ Refugee Health and Wellness Program aims to bring attention to the issue and develop community gatekeepers to address it, with the hope of increasing awareness, lowering risk, and improving well-being for the community as a whole.