On February 28, FIRM, through its multiple mental health programs, hosted a Hmong suicide prevention workshop. With both Southeast Asian youth and elders suffering from disproportionate rates of suicide, this workshop provided important and potentially life-saving information to the community.
The featured speaker was Dr. Peter Vang, Refugee Community Liaison with the Fresno County Department of Social Services, who himself lost a son to suicide in the Hmong youth suicide cluster several years ago. FIRM staff also shared with attendees the signs that someone may be contemplating suicide and how to provide help. The workshop was our largest to date with 39 attendees—many of whom also shared the personal experience of having lost someone to suicide. FIRM holds two mental health workshops a month on a diversity of topics.