Join us for the 2nd Annual Suicide Prevention & Recovery Conference. This event is a collaborative effort between the McHenry County Mental Health Board and the McHenry County Suicide Prevention Task Force which focuses on suicide prevention, mental health wellness and substance abuse. The theme for 2018 is:
"Uniting Our Voices, Strength and Recovery"
The conference will provide a space for professionals & the community to discuss their concerns, successes, and challenges, and share tools and best practices with all who attend.
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Who Should Attend: Behavioral Health Providers, Mental Health Professionals, Survivors, Mental Health Consumers, Students and the general community. ALL are encouraged to attend!
Stephen Kavalkovich - Radio Show Host, Speaker, Consultant. Stephen is a long time NJ resident who has been given the gift of many experiences in life. He served as a Paramedic for 15+ years and had the honor of serving as a rescue worker at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
While saving countless overdose victims in his career, he always felt a pang of sadness when his colleagues would treat a hurting person poorly due to their lack of knowledge concerning addiction. Little did they know that he soon would be no different than many of his patients; stealing pills from medicine cabinets and from the medical bags he carried.
It took Stephen overdosing multiple times and being revived by former colleagues, losing his certification, career, marriage, and children to finally change course and start working on a recovery program.
His focus is to open up a conversation about addressing the underlying pain, trauma, or lack of coping skills that makes one decide to self-medicate. It happened to the rescuer who should have known better. No one is immune to the disease of addiction. Stephen’s story needs to be shared to give others the courage to voice their pain. He feels pain shared is pain lessened.
Stephen has expertise in Emergency Medical Care, First Responder PTSD and Substance Abuse issues, Recovery Coaching, Intervention, Leadership, and Spiritual Studies.
Breakout Session Topics & Presenters
Breakout Session I
Breakout Session II
Breakout Session III
For the Conference Schedule and a brief description of Breakout Sessions CLICK HERE.
The Suicide Prevention & Recovery Conference has several opportunities for corporate and individual sponsorship. Please contact Denise Bowman at dbowman@mc708.org for additional information.
Free Exhibitor space available. Please contact Scott Campbell at scampbell@sccnw.org.