One of the first concerns of our charity had been the lack of any widely available information on suicide. In 2016 we approached Health Scotland and they gave us permission to produce a Northern Ireland version of their Art of Conversation booklet. We did a reprint with minimal changes in 2019.
We recognised that there were major improvements that could be made. The myths about suicide was deleted in favour of presenting the factual counter to these mistaken beliefs. If you are concerned that someone may be in suicidal distress It is centrally important to ask clearly and directly about suicide and that was included with some examples of how the question could be put.
The title of the booklet was changed to more clearly reflect the new content and thus became “We need to talk about…. suicide”
A one hour highly interactive presentation based on the booklet has been developed with the same title and with versions for post primary school children and one for parents/adults in general.
Suicide alertness – safeTALK is designed to help participants learn and practice powerful life-saving skills in just 4 hours. The training provides in-depth skills to enable participants to:- recognize signs of suicide, engage the person, confirm the presence of suicide thoughts and ensure that the person is connected to someone who can help them keep themselves safe. The workshop includes powerful audio-visuals and live practice.
Location: on-site (school; sports club; workplace)
Cost: training materials are provided by Public Health Agency; trainers provided at no charge by Suicide Down to Zero. Host provides the breaktime refreshments.
Number of participants: minimum 10, maximum 30.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) – is often described as suicide first-aid. It teaches people from all helping backgrounds to provide a skilled intervention to a person currently having thoughts of suicide. The workshop also enables participants to work with that person to develop a safe plan that will help keep themselves safe and alive. The workshop includes discussions ,presentations ,use of audio -visuals and skills practice.
Location: off site usually in a College or community facility
Cost: training materials are provided by the Public Health Agency; Suicide Down to Zero bears the cost of venue hire(if applicable) and hospitality costs from donations received. No charge for participants
Number of participants: minimum 8, maximum 30
Time/duration: All workshops begin at 9:00 and continue until 4:30pm with morning and afternoon refreshment breaks and 45-minute lunch break. The workshop can only take place over two consecutive days.
