U.S. Army Garrison White Sands Missile Range was named a 2020-2021 Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Recognition Recipient for the Army in recognition of their Suicide Prevention efforts.
U.S. Army Garrison WSMR representatives will be honored at an awards ceremony Sept. 7 at The Pentagon.
“Through a collaborative effort, different resources were introduced to the community,” said Sandra Class, the WSMR Garrison Army Substance Abuse Program Manager who also serves as the Suicide Prevention Program Manager. “In doing activities with the support of Army Community Service, the Safety Office, Employee Assistance Program and the Religious Services Office, we brought attention to self-care, resilience skills, and skills on how to use ACE (ASK, CARE, ESCORT) effectively.”
Leidia C. Duran, Director, Garrison Human Resources, said that DoD recognizing the White Sands Army Suicide Prevention Program as "Army's Best for 2020-2021", is an amazing achievement.
“This team works so hard to produce great products for their campaigns, events, trainings, and community events that they deserve the recognition,” Duran said. “It is awesome that out of all the other Army installations who competed for the honor, Ms. Class’s team brought the recognition to White Sands Missile Range. I am indeed proud of this office.”
A letter from the Under Secretary of Defense states that each year since 2016, the Department of Defense has honored one exemplary program from each of the Military Departments for their exceptional efforts to increase suicide prevention awareness and community engagement throughout the month of September – Suicide Prevention Month.
It continues to say that the Department recognizes suicide prevention and requires year-round dedication and honors those programs that have positively influenced suicide prevention efforts from Sept. 1, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2021.
Class said suicide prevention is a year-round effort at WSMR.
WSMR kicked off Suicide Prevention Month is September with an interactive event that bought the community together even during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Even during times of physical distancing, and the reintegration into the workplace after a year of teleworking, it was important to emphasize the critical role of relationships and interpersonal connections to family, friends, and the community,” Class said.
She said their focus is about highlighting protective factors.
“We acknowledge that support may look different to some and so we used a holistic approach to build and strengthen social connections,” she said. “We introduced non-traditional ways to encourage people to ask and be that person that intervened when they see warning signs and encourage people to connect and seek support.”
The Department of Defense “Connect to Protect” Suicide Prevention Recognition Nomination package included the following: In support of the National Observance of Suicide Prevention Month, USAG WSMR Army Substance Abuse Program collaborated with other agencies in the community to host several activities for suicide prevention for a year-round prevention effort. ASAP and supporting agencies were creative in bringing awareness to the community despite COVID-19 restrictions. The following are some of the events that were offered:
· A Suicide Prevention Leader’s Resilience Smart Book, a user friendly “living document” offering leaders evidence-supported insight into the identification of the risk and protective factor that affects lives, their readiness and resiliency, unit-level readiness, and the unit’s ability to accomplish the mission. It also included several local and state resources.
· Push Up Challenge – ASAP kicked off the campaign on Sept. 1 by engaging Service Members, DoD employees and Family Members to a Push Up Challenge requesting they complete 17 pushups daily in a month, representing the number of Veterans who die daily by suicide.
· Pledge – To demonstrate personal commitment, Community Members signed a Suicide Prevention Pledge – A promise to Be There. To check-in with a friend or co-worker, learn the resources available, be the one who reaches out, and sets an example by creating an environment where asking for help is a sign of strength.
· Quilt – Using a square cloth, students at White Sands School expressed with words and art what they would do if they saw someone depressed and who displayed signs of risky behaviors. The squares were pieced together to create a quilt. The quilt travelled to various organizations on post and high visibility areas.
· School Event – The local elementary/middle school requested ASAP assistance to provide a presentation on combating bullying and suicide. ASAP introduced an activity to explore emotions. At the end of the sessions, students learned techniques on gauging when they are experiencing situations that may cause fear, frustration, or sadness. ASAP provided training to 2nd to 5th grade and 6th to 8th grade students. Students were engaged in a “Jeopardy” game and created emotion cards to complete with their parents at home.
· Counterbalance Risk Factors Through Yoga – ASAP collaborated with the gym staff to conduct a yoga class. Through the activity, participants practiced different forms of stress reduction techniques to include deep breathing. People participated in-person and via MS TEAMS.
· Brown Baggie – During the month of September, October and November, ASAP visited various organizations and passed out brown paper bags full of information on suicide prevention.
· Commercial “WSMR Let’s Talk” – ASAP produced a 2-minute commercial with the assistance of community members and Visual Information Branch to enhance suicide prevention efforts in minimizing suicide behavior. The talent represented the community as they finished each other’s sentences as they emphasized how we should pay attention to warning signs and not be afraid to ask about suicide. The video ends with closing remarks from the Commanding General and Post CSM and a screen shot of resources.
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