By Travis Barton, My City Journals

The Speedy Foundation teamed up with Optum on Sept. 24 to offer a free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course at the Salt Lake County offices in West Valley City. MHFA is an eight-hour course training participants how to identify the common signs of mental illness including depression, anxiety disorders and substance use...“Mental health is not restricted to a particular age group,” Stewart said about traumatic experiences affecting all ages. 

Youth mental health classes are also offered for people who regularly interact with adolescents who may be experiencing mental health or addiction challenges. 

These classes have become increasingly important in light of a July report from the Utah Department of Health (UDH) stating that suicide is the leading cause of death in Utah for 10- to 17-year-olds. 

“We’re in a major youth suicide crisis right now…we need to really hit home in our schools and anywhere we can,” Flood said, adding that the class is great for parents, counselors and educators. 

Often times mental health issues can be misjudged as anxiety, stress or being overdramatic, especially in teens Emery said. 

“It took me two years to realize that it wasn’t typical teenage rebellion,” Emery said of the experience with her daughter. 

Flood said the class shows participants the signs between typical and atypical teenage behavior. 

“You can see where a typical teenager will always go on their roller coaster ride to really seeing the signs of isolating and if they’re getting involved with alcohol and drugs,” Flood said. 

Severity and time are two of the most important things to look for according to Emery. 

“That lets you know it’s not a situational issue,” Emery said. 

By Associated Press, Idaho Business Review

Tyler Neill has been appointed board president for the Speedy Foundation.

Neill, an attorney in Boise, co-founded The Speedy Foundation.  He was close friend of Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, the three-time Olympian for whom the foundation was named.

Neill graduated from College of Idaho in 2004 with degrees in politics & economics and history, and received his law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law in 2007. He received an MS in education/sport psychology from University of Idaho in 2008.  Prior to working as an attorney, Tyler was the head women’s tennis coach and associate director of compliance for the University of Idaho. He served as treasurer of The Speedy Foundation board from July 2011 to March 2015.

The foundation is a nonprofit organization created in 2011 with the mission of preventing suicide, promoting conversations to end stigma, and supporting mental health education. The Speedy Foundation raises funds for, and collaborates with, other advocacy groups.

Natalie Shaver, KTVB

NAMPA - An award-winning documentary that tackles behavioral health issues in children and teens is coming to Idaho to educate the community on the topic.

Optum Idaho, the Idaho Children's Trust Fund, The Speedy Foundation and the Idaho Federation of Families worked together to bring in the free screening of "Paper Tigers." 

The film follows the lives of some struggling high school students attending an alternative school in Walla Walla, Washington. While they were there the school changed the way it disciplined the students' behaviors by taking a more positive approach.

The documentary also provides insight into how traumatic childhood experiences can impact someone's adult life. That's why event organizers say they want to start a conversation and educate people to make a change.

"It takes a system to make change, to make positive change," Optum Idaho's executive director Georganne Benjamin said. "The positive response from the community really shows that people want to improve, want to do things differently and better."

Wednesday's screening of "Paper Tigers" is at 6:30 p.m at the Nampa Civic Center. 

By Tansi Propst, Park Record

Alyssa Mitchell, a health educator with the Summit County Health Department, said the Summit County Health Department formed a Suicide Coalition nearly two years ago with representatives from school districts, Valley Behavioral Health and the community at large. One of the group’s main goals right now is the Question, Persuade and Refer program, also known as QPR.

Mitchell said more than 900 students have been reached through the QPR training throughout the various school districts.

“It’s an unfortunate growing trend and here in Summit County we tend to be right with the rest of the state,” Mitchell said. “We are about 16.4 per population of 100,000 people, which is not far off of the state’s 20, and firearms deaths are particularly high here.

“We have recognized that there is a problem for a couple of years now,” Mitchell said. “We are trying to implement some programs to see if we can start getting that number to go down and we just received the mental health survey so hopefully from the data that we get it will help us improve our efforts as well.”

For a copy of the Suicide in Utah report visit http://www.health.utah.gov/vipp. For more information on suicide prevention visit http://utahsuicideprevention.org or call the Statewide CrisisLine at 801-587-3000 or the National Suicide Prevention LifeLine at 1-800-273-TALK.

Photo from right, Jacob Dolph, Matt and Megan Provost, among others, hold signs along Park Ave. near Jans Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. The group waved to passing cars, encouraging them to honk if they're happy and to smile.

Betsy Z. Russell, The Spokesman-Review - Eye on Boise

BOISE – Idaho’s suicide rate has long been far above the national average; the state had the 9th highest suicide rate in the country in 2014.

But now, it has something it didn’t have then: A state Office of Suicide Prevention, ongoing state funding for the state’s 24/7 suicide prevention hotline, and an array of groups committed to carrying out a coordinated statewide suicide prevention plan.

State lawmakers this year agreed to create the new state agency, allocated nearly $1 million in ongoing funding, and changed the law that governs the mission of the state Department of Health and Welfare to specifically include suicide prevention.

Advocates celebrated Thursday on the steps of Boise City Hall, where Mayor Dave Bieter issued a proclamation declaring this week Suicide Prevention Week in Boise, and paid tribute to all those who worked to make it happen, including the Speedy Foundation, which formed after Boise native Jaret “Speedy” Peterson, an Olympic silver medalist in 2010 in freestyle skiing, took his own life while battling depression in 2011. The foundation works to prevent suicide, promote conversation to end stigma, and support mental health education.

Kim Kane, director of the new state Office of Suicide Prevention, said, “I think they played important roles in public awareness.”

Nate Fisher, executive director of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Coalition, said when he spoke with legislators, many said they or their families or friends had been affected by suicide. “The stats in Idaho are alarming,” Fisher said. “In talking with legislators about it, almost to a person, they had a story.

Anna Silver, KIVI-TV

BOISE, Idaho - Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has proclaimed this week – Sept. 5 through Sept. 11 -- as Suicide Prevention Week.   

Suicide awareness has also been the focus of a collaboration by a task force created by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and the Speedy Foundation. 

As a young student, Jaret "Speedy" Peterson made a tile of artwork proclaiming that someday he would win an olympic medal.

The aerial skier went on become a three-time olympian who won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The Speedy Foundation was formed in 2011, after "Speedy" took his own life. .

The governor’s task force worked with the Speedy Foundation to form the Suicide Prevention Coalition, which successfully lobbied for funding to launch Idaho's Suicide Prevention Hotline. The hotline is now available 24/7 and is expanding into social media.

Shannon Camp, KTVB

BOISE -- Thursday afternoon, state and community leaders gathered outside Boise City Hall to celebrate the collective efforts that are underway to help prevent suicide in Idaho.

“One of the reasons we love living in Boise and in Idaho is people reach out and help each other but they've really done some amazing things,” said Boise Mayor David Bieter.

The event was co-hosted by the City of Boise and The Speedy Foundation, an organization created to raise awareness about mental health after the suicide of Olympic skier Jeret “Speedy” Peterson in 2011.

“It just feels wonderful to have your family support you and that's what Boise is, Boise is just a giant family,” said Shannon Decker, executive director of The Speedy Foundation.

In the past five years The Speedy Foundation has helped spearhead the creation of Idaho's first suicide coalition, a group that has lobbied together for more state funding for its collective cause.

By Zach Kyle | Idaho Statesman

MAYOR DAVID BIETER NAMED SEPT. 5 THROUGH 11 SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK IN THE CITY.

In 2011, Boise lost three-time Olympic skier Jeret “Speedy” Peterson to suicide. His family launched The Speedy Foundation nonprofit to combat suicide. The executive director of the foundation, Shannon Decker, said at the news conference that each person can contribute by volunteering or donating to a suicide prevention organization, or by reaching out to someone needing help.

“There is hope,” she said. “There is help. There is recovery.”

Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline, Idaho Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Office of Suicide Prevention to share updates since 2011 launch of prevention initiatives.

By Shannon Decker & W. Stewart Wilder | Idaho Statesman, Guest Opinion

The Idaho Health Quality Planning Commission and the Idaho Legislature have identified suicide as the No. 1 public health issue facing our state, and over this past legislative session, nearly $1 million was approved to start funding for prevention efforts in the state’s budget. The support was not easy to obtain, but thanks to many individuals and organizations fighting for mental health and suicide prevention, both public and private, the legislation passed and Gov. Butch Otter signed into law. This funding is directed at four key strategies outlined by the commission.

▪  Funding for a state office on suicide prevention. This critical program, under the Department of Health and Welfare, will be tasked to coordinate and implement strategies on suicide prevention in concert with the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan.

▪  Sustainable funding for the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline. This valuable resource to our communities will now have 60 percent of its annual funding needs provided by the state and a wonderful public/private arrangement to generate sustainable funding annually.

▪  School prevention programming. Evidence shows that gatekeeper training, peer mentorship and resiliency programs do work to prevent suicide and other mental and physical health problems in K-12 and university school settings.

▪  Awareness campaigns. Our society has embraced campaigns regarding seat belts, tobacco (Idaho Filter Project), methamphetamine (Idaho Meth Project) and many others over the years, but we have not collectively addressed awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. Funding is in place to begin just such a program, which is a step to significantly chip away at the stigmas associated with mental health and suicide.

As with any medical condition, proper diagnosis is the first step to treatment. These efforts and others under the direction of the state office will have a great impact on how we screen, diagnose and set up treatment for mental health, no differently that we should for cancer, diabetes, heart and other physical ailments for all ages. The human brain is the most complex organ in the body, and we give it the least attention. This is changing and, yes, will take time, energy and funding, but if it saves just one life, it is worth it. The life saved may be your own child, grandchild, family member or neighbor.

By: IRB Staff, Idaho Business Review

Shannon Decker has been appointed executive director of the Speedy Foundation.

Decker, a co-founder of the foundation, received a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Idaho and has ten years of private and public teaching and administrative experience in Idaho, Nevada and California. She is a mental health first aid facilitator who offers trainings in Idaho and Utah to further the foundation’s mission of promoting mental health education and advocating for suicide prevention.

Peterson was an American World Cup aerial skier and three-time Olympian who was based at Bogus Basin and won the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He died at age 29 in 2011.

The nonprofit Speedy Foundation was founded in 2011 by Peterson’s friends and family to prevent suicide, promote conversations to end stigma, and support mental health education. The Speedy Foundation raises funds for, and collaborates with, other advocacy groups.

By Idaho Business Review Staff

The Speedy Foundation (TSF) and FACES Family Justice Center held a Mental Health First Aidtraining July 13 for staff members, including law enforcement, medical providers, prosecuting attorneys, victim advocates, and community resource professionals.

FACES identified MHFA training as a critical need for the center’s mission.

By Shannon Camp, KTVB

In just five short years, The Speedy Foundation, like its namesake, has taken off. Helping to create Idaho's first suicide prevention hotline, and teaching mental health education to hundreds of people in Utah, Idaho and now right here in Speedy's hometown of Boise.

“It’s very much like first aid, it’s very much like CPR,” said Decker. “But you’re more likely to come across someone who is having a mental health crisis than you are to someone who is having a heart attack.”

The foundation has teamed up with FACES, a center for victims of abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. Together they are teaching mental health first aid in the Treasure Valley.

“How to help someone when you recognize these signs and how to just be a resource, how to listen, how to reach out for help where to reach out for help,” said Decker.

The goal is to give hope to those who need it, while honoring the man who gave hope to so many.

“I’d like to see no suicides is what I’d like to see,” said FACES COO Jean Fisher. “I think we have a lot of reason to be hopeful. I think we finally have resources to make that happen, to make that a reality.”

“To take that tragedy and our feelings of loss, it’s very easy to transition it into something that is hopeful, into eliminating the pain that we felt and the pain that he felt for anyone else,” said Decker.

The Speedy Foundation and FACES plan to host more mental health first aid courses in Boise and across the state.

By Leslie Tillotson, KUTV2

SALT LAKE CITY -- Knowing CPR or the Heimlich maneuver may save a life, but what if you come in contact with someone suffering a mental or emotional crisis? Would you know what to do? Fortunately, Optum and The Speedy Foundation have teamed up to provide free mental health first aid training.

Major life changes such as a breakup, loss of job, or the death of a loved one can trigger situational depression. Those are times someone might be having some difficulty. So check-in, be straightforward, and if they're struggling, ask tough questions.

"Don't be afraid to ask the real question that you want to know. 'Are you thinking about killing yourself?'" emphasizes Flood.

By Danica Lawrence, Fox13

SALT LAKE CITY – Research shows roughly one in four people deal with mental health issues in Utah, and a new class is providing people the "first aid" lessons they need to help loved ones who are suffering.

“These classes provide an amazing bridge to understanding what mental health is, the various levels of it, and how you can start talking to somebody,” said Katie Flood of The Speedy Foundation.

Experts say mental health is a subject that's been scary to talk about in the past but isn't so easy to avoid anymore. Suicide is a major health problem in Utah and a leading cause of preventable death.

By Marjorie Cortez, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — As inner-city service missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Don and Julie Stewart's assignment to the Rio Grande Branch near many of the city's homeless services providers carried a steep learning curve.

"We're constantly dealing with mental illness and not knowing how to deal with it, how to handle it, how to recognize it or the right things to do or the wrong things," Don Stewart said.

To help inform and guide their efforts, the Stewarts are enrolled in a Mental Health First Aid class where they are learning to recognize signs of mental health crises and suicide and to develop an action plan to help someone in crisis.

The Stewarts say the training is so valuable, they've enrolled in the eight-hour class for a second time.

"This class was a game changer for us. It was like, 'OK help us understand,' because we were not addressing the mental heath issues. We were, 'Let's get you back to work. Let's get you housed. Let's get you out of the shelter,' and people were just coming right back to the shelter," Julie Stewart said.

The training is provided free of charge in a partnership between The Speedy Foundation, which was formed in honor of three-time Olympian Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, who died by suicide in July 2011, and Optum, which manages Salt Lake County's mental health and substance use services under contract with the county's Division of Behavioral Health Services.

By Lisa Costantini, Team USA

Three-time Olympic freestyle skier Emily Cook sits on the board of The Speedy Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to understanding mental illness through education, research and advocacy, founded in honor of Olympic medalist aerialist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson. She is also involved in the organization Right To Play.

By Emily Cook, TEAM USA

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and for many of us an opportunity to reflect on and honor those who have struggled. For me, it is a time to remember my teammate and very good friend Jeret “Speedy” Peterson and, in his honor, to look deeply at how we can all support each other.

While a loving, caring, outgoing friend, Jeret battled depression throughout his life. Less than 18 months after winning a silver medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and retiring from competitive sport, Jeret took his life in July of 2011 at the age of 29. This was a devastating time for his family, teammates and friends, but in the spirit of his passion for giving back to others, The Speedy Foundation was founded and today is focused on understanding mental illness, preventing suicide and fighting stigma through education, research and advocacy.

There are so many positive things that come out of sport: perseverance, dedication and an unwillingness to give up among them. But often times this grit, which has been so engrained, can prove challenging, especially after retiring from sport. As an athlete at the Olympic level it’s easy to define yourself by your sport. When you retire, who are you? The challenges of major transition in life can be tough for all of us, not just athletes.

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, The Speedy Foundation and the Park City Sport and Wellness Coalition will host a seminar at Park City High School about recognizing the signs of mental health problems and the stigma of talking about suicide.

By Jessica Murri, Boise Weekly

While a first-aid class offers instruction on what to do when someone is having a heart attack, The Speedy Foundation and Optum Idaho believe mental first-aid training is just as critical. The organizations came together to offer training sessions that equip students with an action plan on how to recognize and assist someone in a mental health crisis. The 12-hour courses help students learn to identify different types of mental illness like depression, eating disorders, substance abuse and anxiety; and how to assess for risk of self harm or suicide; how to listen non-judgmentally and how to get assistance when needed.

"It helps people to recognize the signs: what people are saying or hinting at," said Georganne Benjamin, the communications director for Optum Idaho, an organization that manages outpatient mental health services for Idahoans enrolled in Medicaid through the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan. "It might not be obvious to most people, but if you've gone through this, you've been trained to see and respond to those types of signs."

The Speedy Foundation, which was founded after three-time Olympic skier and Boise native Jeret "Speedy" Peterson committed suicide in 2011, agreed to help Optum Idaho offer training sessions across the state during the past year. So far, sessions have taken place in Boise, Idaho Falls, Salmon, Weiser, Shoshone, Montpelier, Idaho City and Grangeville. 

"Our goal in launching the program was to really bring it to rural communities, where access to services are not as available as larger cities," Benjamin said. 

Idaho high-school students reported seriously considering suicide. By offering mental first-aid courses, Optum Idaho and The Speedy Foundation hope to curb that.