The Georgia Domestic Violence Fatality Review Project (the Project), a statewide partnership between the Georgia Commission on Family Violence (GCFV) and the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (GCADV), is excited to announce a new initiative focused on integrating suicide prevention strategies into domestic violence advocacy and intervention.

The Project is seeking 10 professionals interested in joining a suicide prevention leadership group charged with addressing key recommendations from the 2016 Georgia Domestic Violence Fatality Review Annual Report, which focuses on the suicide-homicide connection in lethal incidents of domestic violence. A primary goal of the suicide prevention leadership group is to increase training for service providers and bystanders on effective suicide prevention strategies.

Group members will assist GCFV and GCADV staff with providing these trainings in their own communities. Ideal candidates will come from varied disciplines including victim advocacy, law enforcement, courts, FVIP, and mental health or medical providers.

Group members will attend a two-day training to be held on August 29th and 30th at the Mansour Center in Marietta, GA.

The training will cover the following topics:

  • Relationship dynamics and tactics of abuse common in domestic violence-related murder-suicide cases
  • Strategies which encourage a coordinated community response to reduce the risk of a domestic violence-related murder-suicide incident, including responses from advocates, and the civil and criminal justice systems
  • Suicide Prevention and Intervention
    • Understanding the nature and range of suicidal communications
    • Knowing the groups at greatest risk of suicide o New and promising approaches to suicide prevention
    • Completion of the QPR Gatekeeper Training Certification Course, a three-year certification which authorizes participants to conduct the QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention. More information on the QPR model is available at www.QPRinstitute.com.
  • Development of implementation initiatives

Selected attendees will receive a scholarship covering the cost of the two-day training, to include overnight accommodations, mileage reimbursement and per diem. Travel expenses will be paid on a reimbursement basis and will follow State and Federal travel policies. The scholarship also covers the cost of the QPR Gatekeeper Training Certification (valued at $495) and training materials.

Attendees will be required to conduct a minimum of three QPR Gatekeeper Trainings in the year following the training and will be eligible for follow-up technical assistance by Fatality Review Project staff.

If you are interested in being selected for the group, please complete the questionnaire below by July 10, 2017 and return it to [email protected] marked with the subject line “Suicide Prevention Leadership Training.”