YORKTON — The Yorkton Indigenous Friendship Centre is going to host a lunch and learn to mark Suicide Awareness Month.
The event will happen Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. at the Yorkton Sign Building. Roxanne Scott with the friendship centre said there aren't a lot of resources available to people who need information and support.
“Hosting this lunch, we’re trying to have families within our community and surrounding area who are affected by suicide, whether it be someone close to them or an acquaintance or maybe someone within the immediate family,” said Scott.
The goal, she said, is to host a conversation to share support to build stronger connections so that nobody feels like they are struggling alone.
The guest speaker will be Melanie Knutson with the Yorkton Tribal Council. Scott said Knutson has a background in suicide awareness.
An elder will be present to pray for the crowd, conduct a smudge and provide insight and awareness.
The centre encourages people to RSVP in attendance so they know the numbers, in case they need to have extra support.
“If someone shows up we don’t want them to be leaving with all that pent-up trauma and emotions within them,” said Scott. “We need to have the supports right there, that there’s someone there that they can go and talk to if something is triggered by our speaker, or if they feel heavy with whatever was talked about, we want to have … someone there for them to talk to.”
Interest has been good for the event, she said. People have reached out to see if students can attend or if there is room for people from outside of Yorkton. She hopes they can have 25-30 people in attendance.
The centre just recently started up, so they’re trying to reach out on how to best support people in Yorkton and surrounding communities.
Those who want to attend can reach out to Scott at 306-621-6705.
