🟠 The Challenge: Supportive Systems, Still a Missing Piece

The Carroll College Fighting Saints already had a robust mental health support structure: a culture that encourages all to seek help when needed, suicide prevention training within the Helena Public School System for students starting in middle school, mental health education in the broader Helena community, and a student counseling center that hasn’t had a waitlist in over two years. But this small college was looking for more.

“I think suicide prevention training helps us have an idea of, ‘Okay, what are the warning signs? What should I be looking for in a loved one?’ But when you see those signs, I think there is a gap between knowledge and action. Yes, you’ve had training, but how do you really implement it when someone’s life is actually on the line?”
— Beth Demmons, LCSW, Carroll College

Raising awareness was no longer enough. They needed training that helped people stay grounded when someone opened up about suicidal ideation—and gave them practice with the actual words to respond with compassion and clarity.

🟢 The Solution: Real Language. Real Scenarios. Real Impact.

Carroll brought Jessi in to deliver a suicide prevention training during Suicide Prevention Month that went beyond theory—giving participants both the language to use in the moment and a safe space to practice it.

“As a certified QPR trainer, I could do a presentation, but it’s kind of like getting advice from Mom and Dad. You hear it from people you know, and it doesn’t carry as much weight, but when you bring in an outsider, [people think], ‘Hey, this must be really important to the campus that they’re bringing an expert in to talk about this.’”
— Beth Demmons

This training wasn’t just for students or staff. Carroll opened the session to the greater Helena community—and turnout reflected the need. More Helena community members attended than Carroll staff and students.

“With the QPR trainings that I’ve done in the community, I was surprised at how many older adults really had a lot of misnomers about suicide. I thought, ‘Let’s branch out to the greater Helena area and a wider population than just our campus.’ The idea was to create awareness and training for the communities that support our students and one another.”
— Beth Demmons

The biggest gap that Carroll was trying to fill in their existing mental health awareness programs was practice through role play on how to intervene in a suicidal crisis, plus tactical communication strategies to support the person in crisis.

“The gap Jessi bridged for us, that next level, was the scenario-based training to help people practice what they would do in real life. Once you’ve practiced it, you at least have that muscle memory of, ‘I’ve done this before.’ Every single person that volunteered in the scenarios and the majority of the audience were like, ‘If I ever got into that situation, I know exactly what to say and do.’”
— Beth Demmons

With live practice, attuned audience interaction, and language that was immediately usable, participants walked away feeling prepared for the kinds of conversations that can change—or save—a life.

🔵 The Impact: Earlier Interventions. Less Bottlenecking. Broader Access to Care.

One of the clearest shifts? Improved staff knowledge of how to work with someone who’s having suicidal ideation—not just awareness, but asking the hard questions and intervening at the appropriate level.

“With this scenario-based training, our housing area coordinators and resident assistants are very effective at intervention. We’re seeing less people in crisis in the wellness center because they’re getting the immediate care they need.”
— Beth Demmons

🟣 What This Means for Other Organizations

Montana has ranked in the top five states for suicide rates in the nation for the last 30 years. Beth shared why:

• High-altitude living increases metabolic stress caused by long-term oxygen deprivation
• Alack of Vitamin D absorption, despite the sunshine, which correlates with higher rates of depression
• A vast rural community resulting in social isolation and a lack of behavioral health services (which means emergency responders might be hours away)
• Easy access to firearms
• A culture of self-reliance contributing to stigma associated with mental health, as well as unhealthy coping strategies such as alcohol

“Montana is very much a ‘cowboy up’ mentality, which just means you don’t talk about your emotions; you deal with it, and that’s the way it is.”
— Beth Demmons

If you work in an environment where your people are isolated, under pressure, reluctant to talk about mental health—or expected to stay strong no matter what—these risks may already be present in your team.

Jessi’s training gives your team the tools to recognize suicidal ideation, respond to it, and prevent it—before it becomes a crisis.

✅ The Final Word

“Education is paramount for anything that we do, and why would it be any different for suicide prevention? Prevention and effective intervention not only save the life of a person in crisis; prevention impacts the lives of all those touched by attempted or completed suicide. We all have a part to play in helping those in need. It’s being a good neighbor, and it’s just what Saints do.”
— Beth Demmons