Congressman Paul Hodes Suicide Prevention Legislation for Reservists and National Guard

Congressman Paul Hodes Introduces Suicide Prevention Legislation for Reservists and National Guard

June 11, 2009

Washington, DC--- Congressman Paul Hodes introduced legislation that would implement the Connect/Frameworks Suicide Post-vention Program which trains key service providers and community members to provide an integrated community response to reduce risk and promote healing in the aftermath of a suicide.

Effective post-vention is an essential component of suicide prevention, and the legislation recognizes that post-vention training should be incorporated into any comprehensive suicide prevention effort.

"It is tragic that our service members who sacrifice for our country don’t have all the necessary resources to deal with post traumatic stress and confront suicide prevention," Congressman Paul Hodes. "This program has proven successful for the New Hampshire National Guard and I believe it can be successful to prevent suicides for National Guard members and Reservists across the country."

The focus of the training is to create an integrated, coordinated community response that
(1) enhances collaboration and coordination to provide the most effective intervention
(2) assures outreach and prevention through rapid and comprehensive communication, including best practices, safe messaging, appropriate memorial services, and media guidelines; and,
(3) engages resources to help survivors and the community with grieving and healing.

The Connect/Frameworks Postvention protocols were developed through coordination and facilitation of statewide, interdisciplinary working groups that included a variety of stakeholders and experts. Training activities and materials based on these protocols were developed by Connect/Frameworks staff in consultation with experts in training and best practices in suicide prevention, and then tested and evaluated prior to implementation.
http://hodes.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1713#.