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Department of Army civilians and family members in the community offer excellent support to our community and Soldiers. Part of what lends to this experience is the multitude of resources available to help civilians and families through difficult times. Research has shown that when building successful suicide prevention in a community, resiliency factors are the key to success.
The KMC has a well-established network of providers to assist with civilians and families that have concerns about compassion fatigue or other mental illness that could lead to thoughts of suicide.
Research indicates that the presence of resiliency factors can lessen the potential of risk factors to lead to suicidal ideation and behaviors. Once someone is considered at risk, command, schools, families and friends should work to build these factors in and around that person.
These include:
• Family and command support and cohesion, including good communication
• Peer support and close
social networks
• School and community
connectedness
• Cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide and
promote healthy living
• Adaptive coping and problem-solving skills, including conflict-resolution
• General life satisfaction, good self-esteem, sense of
purpose
• Easy access to effective medical and mental health resources
The U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Suicide Prevention Team has the answers and will begin to provide them to civilians and family members quarterly starting in June. The first of these quarterly presentations on suicide will be at
10 a.m. Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s Heaton Hall. These presentations are hosted by the garrison’s Army Substance Abuse Program Employee Assistance Program and Chaplain’s Office. Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Bill McCoy, the garrison’s staff chaplain, will be the guest speaker and will focus on signs and symptoms of suicide, intervention and links to providers.
For more information, e-mail Heather Robinson at heather.a.robinson1@us.army.mil or visit http://www.per.hqusareur.army.mil/communityresources to view the community resource guide for this area.
