The training, “Utilizing our Faith to Promote Mental Wellness and Prevent Suicide Workshop,” will be held 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Wichita.
The workshop will include personal stories of transforming suffering and loss into healing and positive impact from Andrew Meng, parochial vicar at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and Dr. Jessica Provines, chief psychologist at Wichita State and co-creator of the Suspenders4Hope Mental Wellness program.
Suspenders4Hope shirts and lunch by Tanya’s Soup Kitchen will be provided by the Catholic Assembly of Businesses, Ascension Via Christi and WSU at no additional charge.
The Suspenders4Hope Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention Program, developed at WSU, is committed to bringing hope to people in times of despair by reducing stigma and improving emotional coping and peer support. The program is about shifting the current culture of silence to a culture of shared vulnerability, caring, and most importantly support. We are all connected as human beings, and we are responsible for taking care of each other. Therefore, a goal of the program is to unite education, health care, non-profits, businesses, and faith communities to address the mental health and substance use crisis in our society with compassion, love and kindness.