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HeartLine Presents Audrey Hatley Award
Heritage Hall Middle School student body
It was our pleasure on October 27th and 28th to visit Heritage Hall Middle School. We had the rare treat of presenting seven HELP presentations simultaneously to seventh and eighth graders on the 27th and awarding Heritage Hall Middle School with the Audrey Hatley Award on the 28th. Heritage Hall received the award for incorporating HeartLine’s HELP initiative into its seventh and eighth grade curriculum last year. See the link for a gallery of photographs from the presentation.
Audrey Hatley Award Presentation 2011 Photo Gallery
A History of the Audrey Hatley Award
Each year, HeartLine recognizes a school that has placed special emphasis on health and safety education. Recipients incorporate any of a number of public safety initiatives, such as suicide prevention and awareness, mental health education, depression screenings, substance abuse awareness, and school violence awareness, into their overall curriculum. The award is named for Audrey Hatley, a fourteen-year-old girl who took her own life. Audrey Hatley’s story is a reminder of the importance of understanding and taking action on the warning signs of depression and suicide.
HELP–the Healthy Education for Life Program
HELP, HeartLine’s Healthy Education for Life Program, provides free, interactive training to increase awareness and empower students to prevent bullying and suicide among peers. Since its inception in 1997, HELP has reached over 41,000 students in the Oklahoma City metro area with its in-class presentations and seminars. HELP learning opportunities focus on dispelling the negative stigma of getting help for mental illness and suicidal tendencies, understanding the warning signs of suicide in peers, and learning how to take action so that at-risk students are identified and receive the help they need. ASK-LISTEN-TELL is the cornerstone of HELP and is a simple and easily remembered model that students can employ if they suspect a peer is depressed or suicidal.
In 2008, HeartLine’s HELP initiative was recognized by the American Association of Suicidology Best Practices Registry for suicide prevention. The initiative includes a 20-minute video, role playing activities, an interactive story board activity, and the cornerstone of HELP: the Ask-Listen-Tell model. HELP presentations also include a brief evaluation in which students have the opportunity to self identify as being at risk for depression or suicide.
For more information about HeartLine’s HELP initiative, please contact Lisa Harper, Director of Suicide Prevention and Outreach Programs at lharper@heartlineoklahoma.org or by phone at 405.840.9396 x114.
Reminder: HELP Training for Presenters November 5th
You can become a volunteer presenter of HELP presentations in middle schools and high schools! HeartLine is seeking volunteer presenters and have a training session scheduled for Saturday, November 5th. In this training session from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., volunteer presenters will learn the basic structure of HELP and will be trained in how to present the information and conduct the interactive activities that make up the curriculum.
Here’s a quick rundown of the requirements for a volunteer trainer:
- 6 hours of training
- Commit to a minimum of 20 volunteer hours per year
- Work within a flexible volunteer schedule that is mostly made up of daytime presentations
To sign up for this training, please contact Lisa Harper, Director of Suicide Prevention & Outreach Programs, by email at lharper@heartlineoklahoma,org or by phone at 405-840-9396 ext. 114. Pre-registration is required.
HELP curriculum updated
HeartLine’s Healthy Education for Life Program has a new look and feel! After countless hours of preparation and research, HeartLine’s Director of Suicide Prevention and Outreach, Lisa Harper, has rolled out the new suicide prevention program materials just in time for fall. The program redesign is much more interactive than its predecessor and includes a new video featuring several stories of those affected by suicide. The new version of HELP has already been introduced in several area schools and will be presented throughout the fall by HeartLine volunteers.
Interested in assisting HeartLine in its suicide prevention efforts? Here are two main ways you can help:
1. Set up a meeting between your local school principal or counselor and HeartLine. Contact HeartLine’s Director of Suicide Prevention & Outreach Programs, Lisa Harper, to arrange a meeting. In this meeting, Lisa will outline the program and help determine how best to get its information into the hands of your students. To contact Lisa Harper, email lharper@heartlineoklahoma.org or call 405-840-9396 x114.
2. Become a volunteer presenter of HELP presentations in middle schools and high schools. HeartLine is seeking volunteer presenters and have a training session scheduled for Saturday, November 5th. In this six hour session from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., volunteer presenters will learn the basic structure of HELP and will be trained in how to present the information and conduct the interactive activities that make up the curriculum. Here’s a quick rundown of the requirements for a volunteer trainer:
- attend the 6-hour training session
- commit to a minimum of 20 volunteer hours per year
- work within a flexible volunteer schedule that is mostly made up of daytime presentations
We leave you with the new HELP video preview. The video is used in every HELP presentation and is about 20 minutes long, but this 90-second preview will at least give you a sense of the overall style. All the people featured are telling their own stories. We invite you to help spread the message of suicide prevention by getting us connected with a school or becoming a volunteer presenter. Thanks in advance!
Mental Illness stats and follow-up
Today marks our last post in recognition of Mental Illness Awareness Week 2011. We hope you’ve taken the opportunity to learn more about mental illness and what you can do to help those who may be suffering. We leave you with four important statistics that relate directly to Oklahomans.
- Mental health problems affect 1 in 5 American families
- 60 to 90 percent of all suicidal behaviors are associated with some form of mental illness or substance use disorder.
- Oklahoma is ranked 13th in the country for deaths by suicide.
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 in Oklahoma.
These stats are sobering, but know that help is available. HeartLine call specialists are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week to help those in crisis. As a reminder, here are our numbers.
- 2-1-1 for information and referral
- 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE for suicide prevention
- 848-CARE for compassionate listening
- 1-800-522-4700 for the Oklahoma Problem Gambling Helpline
For more information on mental illness and mental health, visit the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) website here.
HeartLine Seeks Volunteers for Suicide Prevention Video
Today we’re proud to announce that we’re updating our HELP video this summer. This is the video we show to middle and high school students during our suicide prevention presentations. The video we currently use is starting to look a little dated, so earlier in the year, we wrote a couple of grants for updating purposes and got the funding!
In the new version of the video, we’d like to feature real people telling their stories, and that’s where all of you come in. We are asking for individuals to tell the story of how suicide has affected them. It’s our hope to have people who can talk about their own suicide contemplation or attempt, people who have lost a friend or family member to suicide, and people who have seen how suicide has affected a family dynamic, church, school, or community in general.
What we’ve found through our presentations is that students respond to true stories told by the people who lived them. We also know that students respond to people close to their own age. So if you have a story about how suicide has affected you and are willing to talk about it on camera, we could really use your help. The interviews aren’t long, and we’re hoping to interview several people, which means your personal story would be part of a larger project.
Pre-interviews are happening now, and we hope to start shooting the video interviews as early as June 22nd, so if you’re interested, please contact Lisa Harper, HeartLine’s Director of Suicide Prevention and Outreach Programs, as soon as possible. You can email her at lharper@heartlineoklahoma.org or call 405.840.9396 x114 and speak to her directly. If you aren’t sure about participating but would like more information, Lisa would still be happy to talk to you.
Suicide prevention is VITAL when it comes to the middle and high school age group, and any help you can provide would be appreciated.
Follow the link below to the official press release and more information about this project, HELP, and HeartLine in general.
9 Points on Suicide Prevention for Parents and Teens
A number of HeartLine’s supporters and friends have brought this article to our attention in the past few days. Please take a moment to see what Dr. Michele Borba, a psychologist and parenting expert, recommends on this important topic.
The story of 14-year-old girls who hanged themselves in a suicide pact is tragic beyond belief. Our hearts hurt for these young girls’ families. Though we want to protect our own children from such horrific news, please don’t.
Full story here.
