Separate partnerships are leading to a larger coverage area and a brand-new local project for Beacon for Hope Suicide Prevention.
Work had already started in an isolated basis towards going statewide last year. Now, Director Melissa Owen says a new grant is letting it expand to the southeast.
Owen says the rural nature — and specific mental health needs — for southeast Kansas drove Beacon to expand in that direction.
Owen says this one-year, $35,000 grant through the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services will not expand Beacon’s staff, but it will involve all Beacon staff. One the grant ends, Owen says Beacon will continue supporting the initiatives it plans to implement across southeast Kansas by offering suicide prevention training sessions and physical resources on a request basis.
In addition, Beacon is starting a new partnership to provide mental health services and connections at the Lyon County Jail. Owen says Beacon has been invited to do art therapy group sessions with inmates, seeking to give people hope during their confinements.
More information is available at hopelinks.org.
