Limited Seats Open for Public Speaking Training for Survivors of Suicide Loss

There are a few seats open due to cancellations. Act NOW!

The Virginia Department of Health will be offering a series of two day trainings for survivors of suicide loss who are interested in learning how to tell their story safely to friends, various audiences, and the media. Suicide survivors (those who have lost a loved one to suicide) play an important role in increasing awareness about suicide. By speaking about their personal loss and telling the story about their loved one’s life and death, survivors can promote healing and understanding, which in turn supports and encourages suicide prevention efforts. Suicide is a very complex issue and a great deal of research has been done about how to talk about suicide in a safe manner and in a way that will not increase the risk for those who may be vulnerable. This two-day training assists speakers in honing a message that tells their story in a safe and effective manner.

Survivors who complete the training are certainly not required to tell their story publicly after the training, but most do go on to speak at local suicide prevention conferences and local venues such as rotary, their church, legislative committees, etc. The training was developed by NAMI NH and is part of their Connect Suicide Prevention Project, which is listed on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Best Practice Registry.

It is suggested that survivors be at least two years from their loss before attending; however, some survivors are ready earlier and should feel free to talk with us if you would like to attend.

The training is conducted over the course of two days and you will be asked to commit to both training days. The first day of the training will focus on the basics of public speaking, issues to be aware of around speaking about suicide, safe messaging, honing your message for particular audiences/media, and composing your personal story. The second day of the training will give you an opportunity to share your presentation, evaluate yourself, get feedback from the group, discuss how to be responsive to your audience, and review possible responses to difficult questions. There will be a homework assignment for the night of day one.

The training is free of charge to participants and is made possible through funding from SAMHSA.

Each training is limited to 8 participants. Information on training dates, location and registration can be found below:

September 21-22, 2011 - Harrisonburg, Virginia8:30am-4:30pm both days
Blue Ridge Hall, James Madison University
601 University Blvd
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SurvivorTrainingHarrisonburg
For questions, please contact Christina Benton at christina.benton@vdh.virginia.gov or 804-864-7736

Workshop Teaches Tools for Preventing Suicide

Congrats to Amy, Karen and Kerima on building a suicide-safer community. Great coverage by WSET.com. Check out the article at http://www.wset.com/story/14960721/workshop-teaches-tools-for-preventing-suicide

Thanks for to all who participated!

Public Speaking Training for VA Survivors of Suicide Loss

The Virginia Department of Health will be offering a series of two day trainings for survivors of suicide loss who are interested in learning how to tell their story safely to friends, various audiences, and the media. Suicide survivors (those who have lost a loved one to suicide) play an important role in increasing awareness about suicide. By speaking about their personal loss and telling the story about their loved one’s life and death, survivors can promote healing and understanding, which in turn supports and encourages suicide prevention efforts. Suicide is a very complex issue and a great deal of research has been done about how to talk about suicide in a safe manner and in a way that will not increase the risk for those who may be vulnerable. This two-day training assists speakers in honing a message that tells their story in a safe and effective manner.

Survivors who complete the training are certainly not required to tell their story publicly after the training, but most do go on to speak at local suicide prevention conferences and local venues such as rotary, their church, legislative committees, etc. The training was developed by NAMI NH and is part of their Connect Suicide Prevention Project, which is listed on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Best Practice Registry.

It is suggested that survivors be at least two years from their loss before attending; however, some survivors are ready earlier and should feel free to talk with us if you would like to attend.

The training is conducted over the course of two days and you will be asked to commit to both training days. The first day of the training will focus on the basics of public speaking, issues to be aware of around speaking about suicide, safe messaging, honing your message for particular audiences/media, and composing your personal story. The second day of the training will give you an opportunity to share your presentation, evaluate yourself, get feedback from the group, discuss how to be responsive to your audience, and review possible responses to difficult questions. There will be a homework assignment for the night of day one.

The training is free of charge to participants and is made possible through funding from SAMHSA.

Each training is limited to 8 participants. Information on training dates, location and registration can be found below:

July 12-13, 2011 – Norfolk, Virginia8:30am-4:30pm both days
The Planning Council
5365 Robin Hood Road, Suite 700
Norfolk, VA 23513
Register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SurvivorTrainingNorfolk

August 17-18, 2011 - Woodbridge, Virginia (Co-Hosted by ACTS Helpline)
8:30am-4:30pm both days
James J. McCoart Administration Building
1 County Complex Court
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SurvivorTrainingWoodbridge

September 21-22, 2011 - Harrisonburg, Virginia8:30am-4:30pm both days
Blue Ridge Hall, James Madison University
601 University Blvd
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SurvivorTrainingHarrisonburg

For questions, please contact Christina Benton at christina.benton@vdh.virginia.gov or 804-864-7736.

Regional Summits

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program (Virginia Department of Veteran Services) will be hosting seven regional suicide prevention summits across Virginia during May and June of 2011. These one day summits are a way for communities to come together to learn about how suicide is affecting their communities, prevention resources and services available to them, their communities' needs in regard to suicide and what they can do to address those needs.

These summits will be held in seven locations across the state:
Abingdon, VA May 10, 2011
Roanoke, VA May 11, 2011
Harrisonburg, VA May 24, 2011
Fredericksburg, VA May 25, 2011
Chesterfield, VA June 1, 2011
Annandale, VA June 6, 2011
Hampton, VA June 15, 2011

These summits are open to everyone in the community. Since the afternoon of the summits are focused on community planning, you are strongly encouraged to attend a summit within the region in which you live or work. The opportunity to network and plan with peers from your area will be more valuable to you and we would like to make limited space available to members of the same communities.

REGISTRATIONThe following link can be used to register for a summit in your region:
http://www.vcu.edu/partnership/vsps/index.htmlThere is a $15 fee to attend the summits. The above registration link will contain more detailed information about the summits, a sample agenda, summits locations, and directions.

Please feel free to pass this information along to anyone you think would be interested. We look forward to seeing you at one of the summits!

Regional Summits on Suicide Prevention

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Wounded Warrior Program, Virginia Department of Veterans Services present 2011 regional summits on:

Suicide Prevention

The summits are open to all community members, especially:
 Mental Health Professionals (public or private)
 Para-Professionals
 Veterans
 School Personnel First Responders AND Law Enforcement Medical Professionals
 Suicide Survivors/Family Members
 Older Adult Community Members
 Faith Based Community Members
 Organizations focused on Suicide Prevention
 Local Health Districts and Local Departments of Social Services

At each one-day summit, there will be presentations on:
 the most current suicide data from each region;
 suicide prevention education and training resources;
 Virginia Wounded Warrior Program, veteran needs and services available to them;
 a survivor’s experience.

Facilitated discussions will be held on: how suicide is affecting communities;
 community needs in regard to suicide;
 what communities can do to address their needs regarding suicide.

Dates and Locations of Each Summit:
May 10 - Abingdon
May 11 - Roanoke
May 24 - Harrisonburg
May 25 - Fredericksburg
June 1 - Chesterfield
June 6 - Annandale
June 15 - Hampton

On-line registration will open for this statewide training on Monday April 11, 2011. Please look for more details coming to you soon!

Reach out. Check in. Save a life.

Reach Out. Check In. Save a Life. was created in order to promote positive human interaction.

Every day in the United States, there are approximately 95 deaths by suicide, 45 deaths by homicide, countless individuals losing a battle with substance abuse and millions of people suffering from depression. Odds are, if you’re reading this, you or someone you know is affected by one of the above scenarios. We believe simple human interaction can play a large role in reducing these numbers.

Reach Out. Check In. Save a Life. encourages everyone to take some time out of their day to reach out and connect with someone who might be struggling. Make plans to meet up with a friend for lunch or coffee. Smile and say hello to someone at school who seems alone and without a group of friends to hang out with. Go to dinner with a family member. People need to feel connected to others, and to feel that someone notices them and cares. You never know who might be feeling alone and something as simple as a smile or a conversation can go a long way in showing someone that people care.

You’re encouraged to listen to your intuition. If you feel that someone you know (or maybe you don’t know) is having a rough time, reach out. Start a simple conversation. The goal is not to take on that individual’s problems, rather to give a listening ear.

Most of the time, listening is enough help in and of itself. This action can go a long way in making someone feel less isolated and may help reduce the odds of relatively smaller stresses in life turning into large ones. We hope you take some time to browse this website. You’ll find ideas for how to reach out, what warning signs to look for and ways to find resources to be able to help someone in need.

Check it out! www.reachoutcheckin.com

SAMHSA's 10x10 Campaign

SAMNOW AVAILABLE: FREE 10x10 Wellness Campaign Brochures and Posters
The 10x10 Wellness Campaign launched its free brochures and posters for clinicians, community organizations, consumers/survivors and peers who want to take action to improve the life expectancy of people with behavioral health challenges by 10 years in the next 10 years.

The new resources include:
1. Top Three Ways to Promote Wellness poster (SMA10-4569)
2. Eight Dimensions of Wellness poster (SMA10-4568)
3. Informational brochure for primary care providers that provides strategies for talking about wellness and connecting with patients’ behavioral health care providers (SMA10-4566)
4. Motivational brochure for consumers/survivors/peers that describes how to incorporate the Eight Dimensions of Wellness into everyday life (SMA10-4567)
5. Informational brochure to raise awareness about the disparity in early mortality for people with behavioral health problems and gain “champions” for the 10x10 Wellness Campaign (SMA10-4565)

These consumer-centered tools establish a shared language for talking about how wellness can support recovery for individuals with behavioral health challenges.
To order or download these free materials, visit http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA10-4566 or call toll free 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (877-726-4727). To learn about the other resources available through the 10x10 Wellness Campaign, SAMHSA and the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, visit: http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/10by10/resources.aspx and www.fda.gov/womens.