AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION NJ CHAPTER AND
MUNICIPAL ALLIANCE TO HOLD FREE SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING

Basking Ridge, NJ (October 11, 2019) -- The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention New Jersey Chapter, Bernards Township Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse, Bernards Township Health Department will be sponsoring a safeTALK training at the Bernards Township Library on Saturday, November 2nd from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm.

SafeTALK is a half-day training program that teaches participants to recognize and engage persons who might be having thoughts of suicide and to connect them with community resources trained in suicide intervention. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide. The ‘safe’ of safeTALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ letters stand for the practice actions that one does to help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe.

The safeTALK learning process is highly structured, providing graduated exposure to practice actions. The program is designed to help participants monitor the effect of false societal beliefs that can cause otherwise caring and helpful people to miss, dismiss, or avoid suicide alerts and to practice the TALK step actions to move past these barriers. Over the course of the training safeTALK participants will learn to notice and respond to situations where suicide thoughts might be present, recognize that invitations for help are often overlooked, move beyond the common tendency to miss, dismiss, and avoid suicide, Apply the TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and know community resources and how to connect someone with thoughts of suicide to them for further help.

This training is intended for anyone in the community over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training. This program will take place at the Bernards Township Library in Program Room B, located at 32 S. Maple Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. Pre-registration is required for this program. Call Kaitlin Cartoccio at (908) 204-2523 to register.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. For more information please visit https://afsp.org/chapter/afsp-new-jersey/.

The mission of the Bernards Township Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse is to provide consultation, programs, training and resources to members of the Bernards Township community with the goal of preventing and reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs through education, support of events and programs and presence in the community. For more information, visit www.bernardshealth.org