Andrew James Norton

​and Associates

safeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in ASIST.

Over the course of their 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 KeepSafe
  
• Know community resources and how to connect someone with thoughts of suicide to them for further help
  

Who should take safeTALK?

safeTALK offers valuable skills to everyone 15 and older and requires no formal training or prior experience in suicide prevention. Because it only takes half a day to learn, safeTALK is an excellent tool for people who want to become alert to the dangers of suicide in a convenient timeframe. Although formal caregivers such as social workers and counsellors employ safeTALK skills, the program is also used by students, teachers, community volunteers, first responders, military personnel, police, public and private employees, and professional athletes—among many others. By providing a universal model with adaptable components, safeTALK offers useful skills to every audience.

*extracted from the LivingWorks website