Community leaders receive postvention training

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Postvention training aims to educate community leaders to help them properly respond in the aftermath of a death.

Community members, alongside the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center’s Wyoming Institute of Population Health, have been at the Laramie County Library to receive this postvention training.

Staff leading the training said that Wyoming has done a lot in suicide prevention efforts, and making prevention resources available to the community, but now the focus needs to shift to how to help people in the aftermath of a loss.

“Postvention is prevention, and being able to respond to a traumatic death also helps prevent further deaths by having an intentional response,” said Lynette Saucedo, a Certified Prevention Specialist.

Members attending this training feel that being properly trained in postvention will allow staff in school districts to offer support to members of their schools community in the aftermath of a loss.

“This training has been brought to us to help ensure that we have community members, that we have school district staff that feel ready, willing, and able to address tragic instances like a students death or a faculty’s death, or a death that we know can impact students in our community,” said Brittany Wardle, the Community Prevention Project Director for the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Wardle said that that being educated in postvention will allow them to be prepared for situations where they may need to offer a student or a colleague support.