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the New Lenox Patriot | September 14, 2017 | 5
fore the group participated
in an educational presentation
geared toward helping
someone at risk of suicide.
A different kind of therapy
Some of the organizations
in attendance, like the
K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry
through Lutheran Church
Charities, may have a more
indirect effect on most of the
people they serve as far as suicide
prevention is concerned.
Louis Vician, a Tinley
Park resident who has been a
handler for the K-9 division
of Lutheran Church Charities
for about five years, said
he and Darlin, an 11-yearold
golden retriever, have
brought comfort to many
people in disaster situations
around the country, as well
as close to home.
The two have been to natural
disaster areas like the
aftermath of the Washington,
Illinois tornado, as well
as funerals of police officers
where there was a lot of grief
and loss.
One visit he recalled was
when his wife and Darlin
traveled to a school that had
just experienced a traumatic
loss of a student, and one
boy in particular had not left
the library or talked to anyone
in response.
Vician said his wife
brought Darlin in, and although
the boy didn’t talk
with his wife, he did talk to
Darlin.
“Pretty soon, after a while,
he was talking to [Darlin]
and petting her,” Vician said.
“And, just that kind of interaction
was good for him to
bring him out of the very difficult
situation he was in.”
As part of the organization,
most of the dogs are
owned by a church and have
multiple handlers, but they
still primarily live with one
person or family. In Darlin’s
case, she lives with Vician
and his wife.
On a more regular schedule,
the dogs visit nursing
homes and other places they
can provide comfort to those
in need of it.
“Just petting a dog — and
this dog is a ‘pet me’ machine.
She loves to be petted.
— in and of itself will
lower your blood pressure,”
Vician said.
Another Tinley Park resident,
Jim Morrison, serves
on staff at Lutheran Church
Ministries where he coordinates
their Kare-9 Military
Ministry.
“We serve active military
veterans [and] active duty
military men and women by
visiting hospitals and veterans
centers [and] attending
veterans events,” Morrison
said. “...Any place that there
are veterans, and there are
veterans everywhere.”
The Kare-9 Military Ministry
dogs, like Morrison’s
canine partner Brutus, are all
outfitted with camouflaged
vests, and their handlers are
all veterans — Morrison included.
“Veterans communicate
with veterans much better
than non-veterans,” Morrison
said. “We speak a common
language; we’ve all been
through the same kinds of
things. So, it works out well.”
Morrison said the dogs
can help calm veterans who
are struggling with PTSD
and related mental health
conditions, and the dogs
give them a way to express
how they are feeling.
“We exist to bring people
comfort, mercy and compassion,
and it happens when
they’re with the dog,” he
said. “They feel better. The
other thing is, these dogs are
completely confident. You
can tell Brutus anything you
want, [and] he won’t tell anybody.
He can keep a secret.”
While Morrison said the
handlers and their dogs
aren’t trained counselors or
called to crisis-level suicide
situations, the dogs can provide
much-needed therapy
and comfort for people who
are hurting.
“We are a ministry of
presence,” he said. “There
are many, many guys and
women who have suffered
pretty horrible experiences
Gia Washington, of Sertoma Centre Inc., leads a QPR class.
QPR, or Question, Persuade, Refer, is known as the CPR of
mental health.
during their military time,
and the dog helps them to
deal with that.”
Combatting substance abuse
On a more serious and less
furry front, Heroin Epidemic
Relief Organization helps
people who may have turned
to drugs because of depression
or are experiencing
depression because of drug
abuse.
Even Mayor Tim Baldermann,
who worked in narcotics
for many of his years
as a police officer, said he
learned a lot while touring
the HERO drug education
trailer.
“There were a dozen
things that I had never seen
before, and I did that for a
living,” Baldermann said
as he addressed the group
before the panel discussion.
“It’s an ever-evolving situation
that we need to stay on
top of.”
Baldermann, who was 25
when his own brother committed
suicide, thanked all
the organizations involved
in the event and the Safe
Community Coalition for all
they do to help people in the
community and vowed the
Village would continue to
support that cause as well.
“We tackle these issues
head on,” Baldermann said.
“We don’t think just because
we live in a nice community
that we’re not plagued with
drug abuse, that we’re not
plagued with mental health
issues. We are. We have that
happening like every community
does, and we won’t
just pretend that it doesn’t...
We’re going to keep fighting
the good fight and giving
support to those that need
it.”
Martin said New Lenox
is currently the only certified
“Safe Community” in
Illinois, which is a long process
of certification through
the National Safety Council.
Since being originally
accredited in 2010, he said
New Lenox was recertified
last year.
The designation shows
that New Lenox studies data
collected from emergency
services, the coroner’s office
and local hospitals like Silver
Cross Hospital to create
a plan to decrease injuries
and deaths in the community.
In addition to the NSC
certification, the Village is
also recognized by the World
Health Organization Collaborating
Centre for safety,
which gives Martin and others
involved in the coalition
the opportunity to network
and learn from people from
around the world.
“It’s just a great network
of injury prevention specialists
that work very hard to
try to prevent injuries and
deaths in their communities,”
Martin said.
Training to help
Following the panel discussion
with survivors and
experts, Gia Washington
from Sertoma Centre taught
a class on QPR — considered
the CPR of mental
health.
The acronym stands for
question, persuade and refer
and leads people through the
process of helping someone
who may be at risk of causing
harm to themselves.
While the 90-minute training
is helpful for professional
caregivers, emergency
responders, religious leaders,
people who work with
teens and social service volunteers,
the training is also
good for everyday people to
know in case they are ever in
a situation that calls for it.
The training is geared to
create “gatekeepers” in the
community — defined in the
course handout as “anyone
in a position to recognize a
crisis and warning signs that
someone may be contemplating
suicide.”
A room full of community
members received the training
Thursday night at the
Village Hall, but it wasn’t
the first time there has been
a training in New Lenox.
Martin estimated that the
Village has trained 400 or
500 residents in QPR in recent
years.
“A lot of times, someone
will encounter someone like
this, maybe someone who
appears to be a little depressed,
[or] they appear to
be exhibiting some of these
symptoms,” Martin said.
“But, sometimes, they don’t
know how to approach them,
and they don’t know how to
help.”
Michele Batara, executive
director of Crisis Line
serving Will and Grundy
Counties, echoed those same
sentiments and said the QPR
approach is very similar to
the much lengthier, 36-hour
training that volunteer and
interns manning the hotline
receive.
Crisis Line is one of many
United Way Agency Partners
that is funded through donations
and largely supported
by volunteers. In addition to
being a suicide crisis hotline
for people to call when they
need help, they supply many
other kinds of assistance, as
well, including counseling
and can connect people to
resources for food or medical
assistance.
“Research has shown that
the more a person is able to
talk about it, reach out and
feel supported, they decrease
those risks,” Batara said.
“Anybody can help somebody
who is feeling at that
point [of suicide]. It’s scary.
And, that’s why a lot of
people aren’t sure, and they
don’t know what to do. They
feel like it’s more complicated
than it really is, and it’s
really just letting that person
know that you support them,
that you care about them,
that you’re there.”
For more information
about the New Lenox Safe
Communities America Coalition
or any of the services
provided through the
coalition, contact Martin at
dmartin@newlenox.net or
(815) 462-6493.
If you or someone you
know are suffering from
mental illness or contemplating
suicide, call the New
Lenox Crisis Line number
at (815) 485-7366 or visit
www.willfinduhelp.org.
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