ASIST Suicide Prevention Training educates community to save lives
by Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming
March 19, 2014
Since the beginning of 2013, nearly 7,900 people in Wyoming have been trained to recognize the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide – and how to act quickly to get that person help.
"Asking someone if they are thinking about taking their own life could be a life-saving question," said Dr. Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth, Ph.D., Director of Statewide Suicide Prevention for the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming. "The goal is to train community members across all segments of society to have the knowledge and skills to save those at risk for suicide."
Sublette County residents are asked to take part in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) planned for June 26-27 at the Pinedale BOCES Building. The cost is free to participants.
ASIST is a comprehensive, two-day training for emergency responders, police officers, teachers, youth workers, and others in relevant occupations, said Ranae Pape, Community Prevention Professional with the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming. However, the class is always open to the public, because chances are that most Wyomingites will be affected by suicide at some point in their lives. After an ASIST workshop, people will be able to identify an at-risk person, talk with them, link them to appropriate care, and be part of a team improving the community’s response to suicide.
This training is available to parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, nurses, office supervisors, human resource managers, police officers, advisors, caseworkers, firefighters and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.
"What we’re trying to do is tell the public that there is help available in our communities – and that when they are trained themselves, they can get help to others," Pape said
For more information about ASIST, visit www.livingworks.net. For more information about the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming and its prevention goals, visit www.pmowyo.org.
For more information and to sign up for the ASIST training, call Ranae Pape, Community Prevention Professional at 307-360-6382.
Prevention Management Organization of WY.
PO Box 1364
Pinedale, WY 82601
307-360-6382
rpape@pmowyo.org
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