safeTALK - Suicide Alertness for Everyone

Friday, February 12th!

An email recieved on December 23rd, 2009, from Keith Brumwell, Co-Manager, Canadian Mental Health Association, Halifax-Dartmouth Branch:

Learn four basic steps to recognize persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them with suicide helping resources. safeTALK three-hour training can help you make a difference.


Why come to safeTALK?

Most people with thoughts of suicide invite help. Often these opportunities are missed, dismissed, or avoided — leaving people more alone and at greater risk. safeTALK training prepares you to help by using TALK (Tell, Ask, Listen and KeepSafe) to identify and engage people with thoughts of suicide and to connect them with further help and care.


Who should attend safeTALK?

safeTALK is for everyone who wants to help prevent suicide: front line workers, clergy, volunteers, parents, youth*, teachers, law enforcement, … anyone who wants to be a suicide alert helper. safeTALK is brief, affordable and internationally recognized. safeTALK is for anyone age 15 and older. This is an excellent course and is a life skill anyone can use.

*Younger persons may attend with the consent of parents or guardian.

How can I get safeTALK training?

There will be a course held on Friday, February 12th, at the Bloomfield Center, 2786 Agricola Street, Halifax, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and the same course repeated from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

The cost of the course is $30. Certificates are given to those completing this training.

The facilitator will be Keith Brumwell, a registered trainer with Livingworks, a safeTALK trainer, and a Master Trainer who has facilitated over forty ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) courses. Keith works with individuals living with mental illness, he has extensive experience in suicide intervention, and working with persons at risk for suicide.

Please contact Keith at brumwell@ns.sympatico.ca if you are interested and he will provide you with registration information.

You may also get further information on safeTALK by visiting www.livingworks.net.

I took the liberty to edit the email a bit.

Mental health issues deserve an election voice: Coalition

An article published in yesterday's edition of Metro Halifax:

By Devin Stevens

The Mental Health Coalition of Nova Scotia held its third public forum yesterday, and is preparing to make noise during the federal election.

“Our voice isn’t enough,” said Carol Tooton, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Nova Scotia branch.

“We need to bring others from the community in who are working on similar issues, people with the lived experience, who have been through the system. Family members, friends, businesses.”

About 50 people met at the Halifax Forum, breaking into discussion groups and brainstorming how to best represent the mentally ill.

By mid-afternoon, large sheets of paper were taped to the walls, outlining the Coalition’s ideas. Over the next few weeks they plan to pressure federal election candidates to do more.

Tooton said that even though they don’t provide services, the coalition will be after municipal candidates to address those issues as well.

“Guess what? If you have a mental issue and you’re homeless, and you’re panhandling on Spring Garden Road, then it’s an issue for the municipality,” Tooton said.

Tooton said that mental health funding accounts for just four per cent of Nova Scotia’s health care budget, and that number is slipping.

Keith Brumwell runs the Caring and Sharing Social Club, where adults with severe mental health problems can get together, play games, and relax.

Brumwell said he was worried by the lack of funding.

He recently contacted the authorities about a person he thought was suicidal. The doctors agreed, but told the patient to go home for three or four days until a bed became available.

“Home was part of the problem with her,” Brumwell said.