PTSD Awareness & Suicide Prevention 

2025 Conference

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

8:00 am - 3:30 pm

Maucker Union Ballrooms, UNI Campus

Hosted by Military and Veteran Student Services, UNI Veteran Association, and Student Wellness Services

The University of Northern Iowa is hosting its annual PTSD Awareness & Suicide Prevention Conference this upcoming March. All military members, veterans, family & friends of military and veterans, community members, professionals, students, staff, and faculty are invited to join this *free event, where lunch will be provided. Registration will open on February 7, 2025, and space is limited. *Any professionals needing social work, mental health, or Iowa Board of Certification educational credits (CEU) can receive them for $40.00. The number of credit hours is still being determined but is estimated to be 5 hours. Our website will be updated upon approval. More information, registration, and/or payment can be found at https://wellbeing.uni.edu/conference.

We are honored to bring Loneshia Shelton, M.DIV, JD, the founder and executive director of Empowerment Legal Services, to be our morning keynote speaker. She will speak on “Living with PTSD & Life After the Military: Transitioning to Civilian Sector with a Disability.” We will have a lunch keynote as well, which talks about the “Grief of Suicide and Talking with Those Affected.” Buffy Peters will join us as the Director of Hamilton’s Academy of Grief & Loss to present this topic. In addition to our amazing keynotes, we have many options for training, workshops, and informational sessions during breakout periods. Such sessions will include: VA Program & Resources for Women Veterans, QPR Suicide Prevention Training, Self-Compassion and PTSD, Suicide Prevention in Older Veterans, Counseling Against Lethal Means (CALM), Assessing Risks in Health Care and Safety Planning, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 'Be Real" program, VA - S.A.V.E Training for Veteran Caretakers, Kevin Hines “The Ripple Effect” Movie Showing & Discussion, and more. 

If you need reasonable accommodations in order to participate in this event, please contact MVSS Coordinator at 319-273-3040 prior to the event.

This conference and materials are possible and funded [in part] under grant number 1H79SM086381-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and moderators and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of CMHS, SAMHSA, or HHS, nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.