“Together to Continue” suicide-prevention campaign begins Sept. 1

A Venezuelan suicide-prevention center will begin its “Together to Continue” campaign on Sept. 1 with free activities designed to create a broad support network.

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The strategy seeks to consolidate a macro support network to address the phenomenon from an integrated public-health perspective.

Continúa, based in Valencia, will hold in-person events in Carabobo, Yaracuy, Aragua, Mérida, Trujillo, Sucre and La Guaira, as well as in Caracas. Founder and psychologist Anyiseth Sequera said the campaign would approach suicide prevention as a public-health issue.

The schedule includes discussions on cyberbullying, addiction, suicide risk among people with disabilities, emotional dependence and grief after the loss of a pet. Organizers will also examine how art and music can serve as protective factors, with sessions encouraging professionals in fields such as physiotherapy and social communication to act as prevention agents.

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We will also have welcoming and compassionate spaces to discuss the importance of being prevention agents in other disciplines, such as physiotherapy and social communication.

The opening day in Valencia will feature “Sweet Message of Hope,” along with an online forum on pet bereavement. Volunteers in Mérida will repeat the community activity of distributing candies carrying messages of hope on Sept. 2. Later events include a self-care and emotional-management discussion with social communicators, two interactive prevention fairs at Arturo Michelena University on Sept. 9 and 10, dance therapy on Sept. 15, mindfulness on Sept. 18 and a meeting with artists from Carabobo on Sept. 19. The campaign also includes recreational and artistic activities for children, adults and older people.

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The call is for the community to join through different avenues for the prevention and postvention of the phenomenon.