New suicide prevention class mandatory for Key Spouses

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Gross
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Elmendorf's 3rd Medical Operations Squadron's Mental Health Flight has revised their suicide prevention class for Elmendorf Key Spouses and it's first session is scheduled for April 17.

Kitty Beaudoin, 3rd Force Support Squadron, described a Key Spouse as someone who provides peer-to-peer support for the families of a unit. There is a key spouse for almost every unit on Elmendorf. They work directly with the unit commanders and first sergeants and are a link between the leadership and the families.

The suicide prevention course is one of many Air Force required courses the Key Spouses take. They are also required to take some basic training classes to understand the chain of command, what their role is in the command and privacy act information.

Capt. Alexsa Billups, 3rd MDOS, said her main goal once participants finish the class is to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of someone who is having suicidal thoughts and know how to approach the person by asking the right questions.

The reason behind the more in-depth class comes from the recent rise in suicides in the Pacific Air Forces. Captain Billups said in 2009 the PACAF had three suicides, in the first four months of 2010 PACAF has already met the three suicides from the previous year.

There are multiple reasons why an individual contemplates suicide. It is possible that the military lifestyle that includes deployments and stresses personal relationships is one cause. This program looks to address these issues.

Currently, the class is only available to Key Spouses, but the mental health clinic hopes to expand the class into programs like Heartlink, a forum for new Air Force spouses to learn about resources in the community.

"Really the first thing is to make sure we formalize and address suicide awareness," said Ms. Beaudoin.

If anybody is interested in finding out who their unit's key spouse is, they can contact their spouses leadership or call Ms. Beaudoin at 552-4943.