Suicide Prevention

Mr. Perricone beautifully navigated this sensitive topic of preventing suicide with students. He unwittingly made every student in the auditorium feel as if he were speaking directly to them as individuals and reinforced that they are enough and that they are loved. He equipped students with tools to see the warning signs and strategies to help those who are contemplating. Many students came forward after the assembly to offer thanks and tell their story of how they will use their pain for purpose. It takes a special person to be able to broach this subject with our youth. I wouldn’t want anyone else but Mr. Perricone to deliver this message.

Angela Reder
Curriculum/Assessment Coordinator
Belle Fourche School District 9-1

John Perricone is an outstanding orator and can capture and hold his audience’s attention with riveting stories and research designed to increase awareness, advocacy, and proactive approaches related to suicide prevention. Suicide is a complicated topic, but it’s too important to ignore.Unfortunately, we have an epidemic of young people seeking hope and a way out of isolation and darkness. They typically do not want to die but to make it through a grim time, losing hope when their distress exceeds their capacity to cope. Mr. Perricone has the gift of calling everyday heroes that earn their character stripes in the trenches, many of whom are students and educators, into action to spread hope concurrently with a plan of action not only to survive but to thrive in life.
Dr. Mark Britzman
Clinical Psychologist
International Glasser Scholar

Preventing Suicide

This is a  new program that I’m offering in response to requests from administrators across the country.  This sensitive subject was an integral part of my curriculum over the span of my career, and I’ve literally lost count of how many of my former students have written or called me (sometimes thirty years after the fact) to tell me that they had used what they had learned in class as a bridge between a person who was contemplating ending their life and those who were trained to professionally help them. 

What To Expect:

  • program for 6th-12th grade students and staff: one hour and fifteen minutes
  • exploration of the magnitude and scope of this health crisis
  • impact of suicide on family and others
  • warning signs including those that may not be obvious
  • strategies for helping those contemplating suicide

Flyer for Suicide Prevention Address