Tennessee Tech hosting a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training workshop this week to increase the capacity of Upper Cumberland community members to recognize and respond to individuals experiencing thoughts of suicide.
Assistant Director for Rural Resilience at the Center for Rural Innovation Stefanie Byrd said the training is designed for a broad audience including community leaders, educators, employers, and social service providers rather than just mental health professionals.
“It’s an evidence-based training that lasts for two days and it equips people to recognize when someone may be experiencing thoughts of suicide and to respond in a safe and supportive way,” Byrd said. “Really the goal and it is to increase the capacity in the Upper Cumberland for individuals that serve different groups of people different populations to be able to respond in a supportive way.”
Byrd said the workshop focuses on helping participants feel comfortable entering into conversations when they recognize potential red flags. Byrd said the training allows individuals who work with the public to normalize the conversation and navigate the topic with confidence.
“And just beginning to open up that conversation because it’s a hard question to ask and often times there aren’t red flags that are just obvious,” Byrd said. “But it gives us as individuals who work with the public an opportunity to normalize that conversation and be able to do it in a way that we feel confident navigating.”
Byrd said the program operates under the tenet of “safe for now” to help bridge the gap between a crisis and professional medical stability. Byrd said the training helps participants open the door to ask difficult questions and then connect the person in need to resources that provide long-term stability.
“And so what it works to do is just open the door to ask the question and then help that person find safety for now and then connect them to other resources that can help them provide or to find more stability in the crisis that they may be experiencing,” Byrd said. “Sometimes they are obvious and we can spot them but sometimes people are very guarded in their life and they don’t always share or maybe they’re afraid to share or they’re ashamed to share.”
Byrd said Tennessee Tech and the Center for Rural Innovation partnered with Empower Upper Cumberland to offer the training because community prosperity is connected to mental health. Byrd said the initiative has successfully certified four new local trainers to ensure the 14 counties of the Upper Cumberland have ongoing access to these skills.
“There are now four new certified trainers that can provide ASIST training,” Byrd said. “So having these local trainers means that our region can continue to offer this training and expanding the access over time and by doing that it helps ensure that our communities throughout all the 14 counties of the Upper Cumberland they have ongoing access to these life-saving skills.”
Byrd said nearly 120 people have gone through the sessions and many have already used the training in their professional and personal lives.
“I would say that because we are helping people with practical skills that help them make a real difference in the lives of their neighbors and coworkers their friends and their family members,” Byrd said. “You know speaking from my own personal experience and other experiences that have been shared from the additional trainees we’ve had go through which now we’re looking at almost 120 as of tomorrow is that it it’s immediately relevant in our work professional life in our personal lives and several people have already used the training that they’ve picked up through the ASIST sessions.”
The workshop sessions begin at 8:30 Wednesday morning at Tennessee Tech.
