Wisconsin school district to launch suicide prevention program

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. —
A northwestern Wisconsin school district will launch a program that aims to teach kids how to persevere through life’s challenges and look for positive outcomes.

The Leader-Telegram reports that the Chippewa Falls school district will start offering the national Sources of Strength program this fall.

The Sources of Strength program is essentially a suicide prevention program that originated in North Dakota in 1998.

Chippewa Falls High School psychology teacher Virginia Welle says the program tries to encourage students to build positive and stable emotional bonds with each other. Welle says the program’s approach means most students won’t recognize it as a suicide prevention program.

High school principal Becky Davis says a private donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, contributed the $5,000 needed to fund the program.

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