School Resources

The Helpline Center provides resources for schools and communities to implement to be prepared to assist someone at risk for suicide. One of the ways we can prevent suicide is to engage in open conversation about it. Helpline Center staff can provide short presentations to students to educate them about 988, mental health, and suicide prevention. There is a speaking fee and travel expenses for the presentations. If you are interested in a presentation, please contact us at training@helplinecenter.org.

Helpline Center staff can also provide a consultation regarding a Suicide Postvention Toolkit that recognizes the importance of structured support and a template for schools to navigate such tragic events. Contact griefsupport@helplinecenter.org to request a consultation.

Download the Postvention Toolkit HERE.

Additionally, a toolkit filled with resources and information about 988 can be found in the link below.

988 Toolkit

School-Based Resources

Hope Squad- Evidence-Based, Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention

Helpline Center is partnering with the South Dakota Department of Health and South Dakota Schools to launch and support Hope Squads.  This is a school-based peer support team that partners with local mental health agencies. Peers select students who are trustworthy and caring to join the Hope Squad. Members are trained by advisors to watch for at-risk students, provide friendship, identify suicide warning signs, and seek help from adults. The program reduces the risk of youth suicide through education, training, and peer intervention.

Click here for more information or to learn about how to launch a Hope Squad at your school.

Preventing and Responding to Suicide for Schools

It is important for a school community to have a crisis plan in place, ideally before there is a suicide loss. This helps the school and others involved to be aware of the critical roles they play in providing resources and support and to be able to respond in an organized manner following a death by suicide or suicide attempt.

The Helpline Center provides support and guidance in the development of this plan, please reach out to us to learn more.

Helpline Center staff can also provide a consultation regarding a Suicide Postvention Toolkit that recognizes the importance of structured support and a template for schools to navigate such tragic events. Contact griefsupport@helplinecenter.org to request a consultation.

Download the Postvention Toolkit HERE.

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools  After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools assists schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. Originally developed in 2011, the second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk.

Highlights of the second edition include:

  • Updated information on such topics as memorialization, social media, and contagion
  • Updated resource lists
  • A new tool to help with decision-making about memorials
  • New examples of how different communities have addressed specific issues in responding to a suicide death

Suicide Prevention Training for Teachers

The Helpline Center provides a variety of mental health and suicide prevention trainings in South Dakota. We invite you to attend an upcoming training or schedule a training today to learn the steps of identifying and responding to mental health and suicide.

Find Available Trainings Here.

For questions, please email training@helplinecenter.org.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)

Helpline Center staff can provide a consultation regarding a Suicide Postvention Toolkit that recognizes the importance of structured support and a template for schools to navigate such tragic events. Contact griefsupport@helplinecenter.org to request a consultation.

Download the Postvention Toolkit HERE.

For more resources, visit the South Dakota Suicide Prevention website.

 
988 - Call, Text, Chat - helplinecenter.org/988
988 Mental Health Counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.