Partnering With Our Community
Thrive has been dedicated to making Oak Park and River Forest suicide safer communities since 2015. On average, six lives are lost to suicide in our community every year. And, based on statistics from the CDC, 4,000 people in our community have thoughts of suicide.
Addressing the Issue
Members of our clinical staff are trained by LivingWorks Education (a proven world leader in suicide prevention training), enhancing their clinical skills with safeTALK suicide alertness, and ASIST suicide intervention trainings. These staff members offer training and support to individuals who live and work in our communities, thereby building a network of individuals able to identify people with thoughts of suicide and connect them to life-saving resources.
Thrive also works to provide enhanced training of the local police, EMT, fire department, school personnel and others who serve as ASIST partners – those prepared to accept referrals for individuals contemplating suicide.
Veterans and their family members are invited to visit MakeTheConnection.net for additional resources, including videos of Veterans sharing their own inspiring stories of recovery.
Training the Community
Thrive clinical staff offer half-day (3 hour) suicide alertness trainings to individuals throughout our community, including school personnel, students, faith community members, fire department, hospitals and volunteers.
Ultimately, a safeTALK trained individual will learn four basic steps to create a life-saving connection:
- Noticing and responding to situations where suicidal thoughts may be present
- Knowing how to connect that individual to the resources within our community for further help (including Thrive’s crisis team and other community partners trained in ASIST)
- Learning how to recognize a person in crisis whether the communication was face-to-face, via the telephone or through a text
- Connecting the person at risk to providers trained in ASIST
It has been proven that a concerted and universal effort by the entire community can reduce suicide. Community training and awareness can also reduce the stigma that prevents many people from seeking treatment for mental health issues or substance abuse, both risk factors for suicide.
Supporting the Program
To make a gift to support this important program, please click here.