Mental Health Resource Fair this weekend includes training for suicide prevention

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – A resource fair this weekend can help people struggling with their mental health and will provide training for suicide prevention.

The Brown County Coalition for Suicide Prevention is hosting the Mental Health Resource Fair at the Neville Public Museum in downtown Green Bay on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The director of Family Services for Northeast Wisconsin says according to the medical examiner, there were more than 40 deaths by suicide in Brown County in 2023. This year there were four suicides in a 48-hour period.

The resource fair will offer QPR training — that stands for Question, Persuade, Refer. It’s an emergency response to anyone in crisis, aimed at reducing suicidal behaviors. Anyone can take the lifesaving training.

There will also be a panel of speakers talking about their own experiences with mental health struggles. We spoke with one of them, who says sharing her story helps her give hope to others who are going through the same thing.

“When you feel like there’s no possible hope in your life and the only thought you have in your head is, you know, dying, your family, your friends, none of that holds any weight and your thought is suicide,” Lola Skenandore said. “It’s incredibly lonely. It feels like no one could possibly understand what this feels like. But in my own healing journey, when I’m able to share that, I can connect with other people who know what that feels like.”

Skenandore is now a community resource navigator with the United Way.

“I have survived a suicide attempt, and I live every day with a mental health diagnosis. This coalition is so important to me because it is a group of like-minded people who themselves have struggled with mental health or who have been impacted by suicide or anything like that. We are all gathered together to make a difference,” Skenandore said.

The Mental Health Resource Fair will also have family activities and food trucks. Everyone is welcome.

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