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Suicide prevention classes offered in Roaring Fork Valley

Staff report

The Aspen Hope Center will offer suicide-prevention classes at locations throughout the Roaring Fork Valley starting Thursday.

There will be five classes in the next two weeks. They are part of the national QPR Suicide Prevention program designed to be easy to teach and learn. QPR stands for question, persuade and refer — three steps that can prevent a suicide, according to the QPR website.

The free classes will teach students how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question the person, then persuade them to seek help and refer them to professionals.



Roughly 3,000 people in the Roaring Fork Valley already have received training, but recent events has boosted demand for additional courses, according to Michelle Muething, executive director of the Hope Center, which is based in Basalt and has satellite offices in Aspen and Glenwood Springs.

The classes last about one hour. Following is the schedule:




Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Library.

Monday at 5:30 p.m. in Aspen at the Pitkin County Library.

Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Carbondale at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Basalt at the Midvalley Health Institute.

March 11 at 6:30 p.m. the class will be taught in Spanish at Carbondale’s St. Mary’s.