Resources offered to help community cope with recent series of tragedies
In response to the series of recent tragedies that have enveloped the northeast Iowa area, Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has offered a variety of resources to help community members cope with loss and suffering. The links below have been offered by the hospital’s Employee Assistance Center company at Mayo Health System in La Crosse, WI.
Even though these links below are centered around suicide prevention in name, some of the websites and information they are linked to also have information on coping with any type of loss or tragedy:
http://www.lacrossesuicideprevention.org/resources.html - site recommended by the hospital’s Employee Assistance Center.
http://www.lacrossesuicideprevention.org/support-groups.html - support groups in the La Crosse area.
https://www.learnpsychology.org/suicide-depression-student-guidebook/ - student handout information.
http://www.lacrossesuicideprevention.org/get-help.html - anyone can text HOPELINE to 741741 for immediate response to chat via text. This particular service is Wisconsin-based, so your initial message should mention being from Iowa.
In addition to those broader services, the hospital does host its monthly Grief Support Group the second Tuesday of each month and St. Patrick Church in Waukon also has a monthly grief support group as well. Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health also has an abundance of counseling and other informational resources available that can be accessed at www.neibh.org or by calling 1-800-400-8923 or 563-382-3649.
FEATURED PRESENTATION MARCH 13
Also, plans are in place through the Allamakee Community School District to have guest speaker Aaron Thomas, son of slain legendary high school football coach Ed Thomas of Aplington-Parkersburg High School, address both the Waukon High School and Middle School students, as well as community members, on overcoming adversity. Those presentations are scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, at 2 p.m. for the students and at 7 p.m. for community members, with both presentations taking place in the Waukon High School gym. Further details of those presentations will be made available in future editions of The Standard.
