According to the Missouri Institute of Mental Health, one person dies from suicide every eight hours. To prevent loss of life among the communities it serves, Ozarks Technical Community College will implement Burrell Behavioral Health’s ONE Pledge to promote suicide prevention awareness and education.
“Education is centered on people,” said Dr. Hal Higdon, OTC chancellor. “As the third-largest community college in the state, OTC has more than 2,000 staff and faculty. Each one is vital to serving our students. The ONE program will provide them with resources to support themselves and their peers, so they can be here each day to positively impact the lives of our students.”
Burrell recognizes that suicide is not a topic of conversation that is comfortable or easy for many of us. Through ONE, Burrell aims to help everyone learn more about mental health to prevent suicide and save lives.
The ONE program at OTC will:
- Offer professional development opportunities related to mental health and suicide at least once a month.
- Provide “Question, Persuade, Refer” training sessions to OTC employees through Burrell.
- Conduct two college-wide book studies over the following works:
- “The shame of me: One man’s journey to depression and back.”
- “Robin Williams: When the laughter stops.”
- Invite a guest speaker for the fall 2022 College Development Day to speak to all full-time employees on a related topic.
- Identify three workplace champions to manage the suicide prevention program and implementation.
- Offer one college-wide activity per quarter for employees to foster a culture of mental and physical well-being.
To learn more about the ONE Initiative at OTC or participate, please contact Chief Human Resources Officer Ocki Haas at 417-447-2631 or email her at haaso@otc.edu.
The ONE program is free to OTC. The program is supported by funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
