At YSS, we provide training, education, and support for those impacted by mental health and suicide. Support staff for the mental health and wellness education program help create connections that will support and educate those impacted by suicide by delivering training that promotes communities and individuals to be safer from suicide.
SUICIDE PREVENTION
Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide, and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
YSS is dedicated to prevent suicide and help both youth and adults find the help they need.
If you have questions or want to get involved, contact Kalli Kennel at kkennel@yss.org or Brenda Tyrrell at btyrrell@yss.org. Or, call 515-233-3141.
Programming
FOR ADULTS
YSS offers two suicide prevention trainings for adults: ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and safeTALK (Suicide Awareness for Everyone).
ASIST:
- The training teaches suicide first-aid to help at-risk persons stay safe and seek help.
- Participants learn a suicide intervention model to identify persons with thoughts of suicide, seek shared understanding, develop a safe plan, be prepared to do follow-up, and become involved in suicide-safer community networks.
- The training is based on adult learning principles and is highly participatory. Skills development occurs through mini-lectures, facilitated discussions, group simulations, and role playing.
safeTALK:
safeTALK is a half-day training that equips people to be more alert to someone thinking of suicide and better able to connect them with further help. In this training, participants learn how to reach out to someone thinking about suicide and help them keep safe by promptly connecting them with further support. The main role of participants after this training is to serve as a connector between a person experiencing suicidal thoughts and appropriate help. No intervention training is included in this training.
*Both ASIST and safeTALK trainings are provided by LivingWorks, which is an organization whose purpose is to build safer communities and workplaces. Each program is tested, proven, and evidence-based and is supported by over 50 peer-reviewed studies and government reports.
FOR YOUTH
YSS teaches the Hazelden Lifelines Prevention curriculum to youth through four 45-minute sessions. The curriculum is designed for grades 5th-12th, with each curriculum focused on the varying developmental needs from grades 5th-6th, 7th-10th, and 11th-12th grades. All grades learn:
- How the stigma that surrounds talking about mental health in general and suicide prevention specifically influences the way we talk about suicide prevention & awareness (see myths & facts on our Suicide Prevention & Awareness webpage).
- What warning signs of suicide peers, friends, and loved one might exhibit and what steps youth can take to help a friend or themselves (more information to be found on our Suicide Prevention & Awareness webpage).
- How implementing a self-care plan can build resilience and enable youth to feel better equipped to manage unplanned detours they may experience as they transition through changing situations (more information to be found on our Suicide Prevention & Awareness webpage).
