The second annual Alabama Higher Education Suicide Prevention Conference is scheduled for Sept. 10.

The conference is to be facilitated by Troy University faculty members Dr. Kanessa Miller Doss, Dr. Sherrionda Crawford, and Dr. Shelley Reed, who have been in charge of the Suicide Prevention Program since it was introduced last year.

The conference is being hosted by the Troy University Suicide Prevention Coalition at the Phenix City and Montgomery campuses.

Dr. Shelley Reed, a faculty member and facilitator of the program, states that “the coalition is meant to provide education and raise awareness of suicide prevention and intervention, create community conversations and action, and to provide an umbrella of local community resources as well as national resources in an effort to prevent suicide.”

The coalition is a joint effort by Troy University faculty and funded by an Alabama Higher Education Suicide Prevention grant.

This year’s conference theme, titled “Working Together to Prevent Suicide” is to be held virtually from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Two keynote speakers, Dr. Jennifer Wright-Berryman and Jordan Burnham, will be making presentations titled “Real Talk about Suicide” and “Let’s Talk About It” respectively.

There will be eight breakout sessions on topics surrounding teenage suicide prevention, substance abuse and suicide, suicide ideation and attempts among international students in the U.S, suicide prevention in the pandemic and many others.

The program also includes presentations on topics regarding the increase in awareness of help-seeking behaviors to reduce the stigma on mental health, supporting populations with increased risks of suicidal behaviors, identifying institutional frameworks for protocol for acutely distressed students and more.

The conference is to be held virtually on Zoom and is open to both students and professionals who wish to gain more knowledge on the impacts of suicide on communities and its prevention.

Registration for the program can be made through the conference’s registration website.