Photo By Janecze Wright | Summer Dixon, lead suicide prevention program coordinator for the Fort Cavazos...... read more read more
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — September not only ushers in a change of seasons, but also highlights the importance of suicide prevention worldwide.
Suicide Prevention Month serves as a reminder of the impact of suicide, champions the organizations and resources at the forefront of the fight and remembers the many lives lost.
The crew of the Great Big Podcast sat down with Summer Dixon, lead suicide prevention program coordinator for the Fort Cavazos Integrated Prevention Advisory Group, or IPAG, to discuss how The Great Place supports the cause.
“Every September, we run a campaign to get everyone in the Army family involved in fighting this fight,” Dixon said.
This year’s Suicide Prevention Month theme for the Department of Defense is “Connect to Protect.”
The Army’s theme is “We Are Stronger Together.” The two themes underscore the importance of working together to educate and save lives, Dixon conveyed.
“Our overall core objective is to really reduce incidents,” she said. “We have to ensure our warfighters are ready to meet the mission — that they’re not impacted by anything that is going to keep them from meeting the mission.”
Dixon explained her team conducts training for leaders, civilians, service members and family members. She emphasized the importance of early identification and recognizing the warning signs to intervene early.
“It just really takes all of us collectively as a community to just pay attention,” she said. “To be able to recognize those signs and again, intervene early on.”
Fighting stigma is one major challenge within the military community due to concerns of impacting career advancement, Dixon shared.
“With our military demographic, some of the challenges they face like the up-tempo, intense training schedules, may be a little bit different from the civilian side, so it’s more of an emphasis of fighting that stigma,” she added.
Another challenge Dixon noted her team faces is flexibility.
“We have to tailor our training, education … we tailor that to the specific needs of the unit or the individual depending on what’s going on,” she explained, adding IPAG bases their training on risk behaviors commanders say are prevalent within their units.
Dixon said some signs and symptoms of suicidal ideations are more prevalent than others, and historically, service members will use dark humor, joke about death and suicide, give away personal belongings or pets and write comments and posts on social media.
Referencing the proverb “It takes a village to raise a child,” Dixon explained the importance of a collaborated effort to recognize these behaviors and mitigate the risk of suicide.
“All the agencies will partner together to tackle whatever issue may be at hand,” she said, expressing that is why she appreciates her team.
“They help piece us together to tackle these things so we are addressing all the needs at one time,” Dixon expressed.
She added family plays a tremendous role in the team effort to prevent suicide.
“Spouses, part of that role is to be their support, be an active listener,” Dixon explained. “The family members at home may be the first ones to observe any behaviors or comments made in relation to suicidal behaviors and ideations.”
Dixon acknowledges efforts to prevent suicide can be overwhelming, and family members and friends are often unsure of what to do.
She encourages calling or texting 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for assistance 24/7. In times of uncertainty, putting the counselor on speaker phone with the individual can be helpful, Dixon offered.
“Sometimes just sitting beside them or sitting in the same room, just being present may be enough,” she expressed. “We may not be in a good spot to offer assistance, so we just have to at least know the resources that are there to pick up the pieces.”
Dixon listed additional resources and organizations, including Behavioral Health and Outpatient Behavioral Health and the Employee Assistance Program, Family Advocacy Program, military and family life counselors and the Religious Support Office for service members, family members and civilians.
She added that Ask, Care, Escort, or ACE, training, which makes Soldiers more aware of steps to prevent suicide and encourage open dialogue, remains the go-to technique and strategy of the DOD.
“We stick to the Ask, Care, Escort model because it takes individuals step by step on how to offer that intervention,” Dixon explained.
“Fort Cavazos has a program for every challenge or issue a service member or civilian or a family member may have,” Dixon said. “There’s a program here to meet every need.”
To underscore the importance of suicide prevention and help end the stigma of mental illness, the installation will host the 1 Degree of Separation comedy show Sept. 12-13 at the People First Center.
To watch the podcast, visit youtu.be/a_ZgDfRqLkw?feature=shared.
For more information on suicide prevention resources at Fort Cavazos, visit https://home.army.mil/cavazos/units-tenants/Garrison-1/suicide-prevention.
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.07.2024 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 480141 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Connect to Protect’ for Suicide Prevention Month, by Janecze Wright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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