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VA Medical Centers Host Workshop for Faith Leaders on Suicide Prevention

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Next month, the Beckley, Clarksburg and Huntington VA Medical Centers are hosting a joint outreach training event for West Virginia spiritual leaders to learn about veteran suicide prevention.

The workshop will be held Tuesday, July 31st. at the West Virginia Capitol Complex. Called Operation S.A.V.E., the program is a one hour training provided by the VA suicide prevention team. The training focuses on signs of suicide, asking about suicide, validating feelings, encouraging help and expediting treatment.

The joint training comes after a March training in Beckley for spiritual leaders that a VA press release says received positive feedback. The press release says training faith communities about suicide prevention is important because spiritual leaders impact many veterans’ lives in a hands on way.

Appalachia Helth News

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.