Suicide Prevention Conference Scheduled for September

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Several key Berkshire County mental health and community organizations across the region are partnering on a suicide prevention conference to be held in Pittsfield in September. 
 
New Perspectives on Populations at Risk in Berkshire County will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 8 am to 4:30 pm at Bousquet Mountain Ski Area in Pittsfield. The event is aimed at social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, nurses and psychologists. 
 
The program is sponsored by Berkshire Health Systems, the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Program, the Brien Center, the Austen Riggs Center and NAMI of Berkshire County. Applications have been submitted for 6.5 continuing education units (CEU) for those professionals in attendance.
 
This conference will focus on new perspectives on populations at risk for suicide in Berkshire County. Racial justice and health equity principles will be presented with a focus on trauma-informed and healing centered approaches and applications. Suicide risk will be defined through societal structures and environments, rather than just identity traits. Societal mechanisms within systems of oppression that create and maintain high-risk conditions for suicide and the root causes of suicide risk through a community care lens will be identified. Priority populations, including people experiencing suicide ideation, who are at-risk of attempts and or death, and under-served and/or historically marginalized populations, will be reviewed. There will be a focus on youth, suicide loss survivors, and people living in rural areas. Concepts will be applied to the unique needs of the Berkshire County community. 
 
Presentations include: 
Keynote Address - Deconstructing Risk in Suicide Prevention: Ysabel Garcia, MPH, Founder of Estoy Aqui 
       
Populations at Risk: Local, State and National Statistics: Brenda Bahnson, MSW, LICSW, Director of Ambulatory Behavioral Health Services at Berkshire Medical Center 
       
Going Beyond Trauma Informed Care: Christine Callahan, LMHC, PMH-C, MBA, Berkshire Medical Center Department of Psychiatry  
       
Suicide Loss Survivors: Brian Berkel, President of the Board of Directors for the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention; Bertha Connelly, retired human resources professional; and Cheryl Puntil, MN, APRN, PMH-CNS, BC, geriatric, medical, and adult psychiatric nurse 
     
Living Experience Youth Panel moderated by Brenda Butler, MD, Medical Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Berkshire Medical Center.  
      
Small group discussions moderated by Christine Callahan and Brian Berkel. 
 
The conference costs $85 for general admission with CEUs or $35 for admission without CEUs. To register for this event, visit www.berkshirecoalition.org and click on Events. Registration is open until Wednesday, Sept. 4.  
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Companion Corner: Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and playful dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for her new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

"Glo is about a one-year-old, sweet female pitty mix who has nothing but love to give," said kennel supervisor Stacey Broderick.

Glo has been at the shelter for about three weeks after unfortunately being kicked out of her previous home.

"She came here because her previous home, she was being crated an awful lot, and unfortunately, was creating a little bit of a raucous when she was left by herself," said Broderick. "So she was just being a little barky, a little loud. Neighbors obviously shared walls in an apartment setting we're complaining to the landlord, and the landlord said, unfortunately, that she had to go."

But since coming to the shelter she has been learning a lot.

"She's been nothing but a sweet little girl ever since she is working on crate training, she has been very good for us. We're practicing it with her. She is also working on her house training. In addition to it, it seems that we had a little bit of a reverse situation going on, where she likes to go potties inside, but we are working very hard, and she is learning so quickly," she said. "So even after just a couple weeks with us, she's been really getting the point to go outside and do all of her potties out there."

She would do best in the home as the only dog and possibly without cats. She would also do best with older children who can understand her needs as she needs less activity than other dogs.

"The perfect home would, because of the necessity for her to have a lower activity level, probably without other dogs, just because she can get a little bit rambunctious when she gets excited around them," Broderick said. "So she could certainly have doggie play dates, but her perfect home would be no dogs. Unfortunately, we do have a bit of a prey drive with kitty cats, so probably leaning away from the cats, unless they're incredibly dog savvy ...

"Probably looking toward a home without super young kids, just so they're not jumping, you know, or leaning, or anything along those lines, and understanding that sometimes she's going to just need a break."

Because of a medical condition she wouldn't be able to go on long hikes or do anything extraneous but she is still very active and playful.

"She is absolutely lovely. She's sweet, she's young, she's playful. She wants to be with her people all the time. She loves toys. She does like going out for walks. We do have a couple of medical things that we can certainly give more information to adopters, too," she said. "We have some hip dysplasia that we're looking at, so probably moderate activity level would be best for her.

"She shouldn't necessarily be going on super long hikes, even though she would love to, but she is young and full of life and full of energy, and wants nothing more than to be with her people."

Since Glo has hip dysplasia she will need to maintain a healthy weight to not add stress to her joints and can also benefit from hydrotherapy.

"It's something that somebody will have to have a good relationship with a veterinarian physical therapists, and then if they were interested in doing a hydrotherapy type situation, it can only help her," Broderick said. "We want to keep those muscles built up in the hind end so that her hips are not taking the brunt of the bone on bone action while she is kind of living out her very best life."

Glo hasn't shown any symptoms or difficulties since being at the shelter, but it is a condition that her owners need to understand and it increases her chances of arthritis as she gets older.

Broderick said Fritters Critters in Lee specializes in pet hydrotherapy.

"They basically work on an underwater treadmill. So that's walking under the water so that she has a little bit of resistance and the water is warm, so that it's optimum for therapeutic benefits," she said. "They do have a pool there, too, where she would be able to do some swimming, and it really gives her the ability to exercise and really extend those joints and build up those muscles without the added pressure of gravity and impact as she's walking or playing or running.

"So the hydrotherapy is a great option for dogs, even if you just want to do it for fun. She could really benefit healthwise, from it, too."

She will also have to stay on her joint mobility food to help her.

But Glo is a very happy and playful dog and loves everyone she sees and is hoping to find someone who will love her just as much to take her home.

"I can't say enough good about her. I know that the hip dysplasia sounds like a scary piece of it, as well as the house training," Broderick said. "But honestly, there was not a friendlier, sweeter, more outgoing, social, wants to be best friends with you, kind of dog. She was in the front lobby this past Saturday, and she met like 10 people at the same time, and just made rounds and loved every single person as they came in."

You can visit Glo at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about her on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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