If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Experts say it’s a good time to remember how important something as simple as good ol' friendliness can be.
A person reaching out in a neighborly way can change someone’s life, says Melanie Brown-Woofter, president and CEO of the Florida Behavioral Health Association, which represents community treatment providers.
“Pick up the phone and call. Text. Drop by their house and say, 'Hello, how are you.' If you see them in the grocery store, start up a conversation. Perhaps in a place of worship, maybe in a civic environment. Invite them to go do something. Invite them to come to your house for tea or dinner or an ice-cream cone," she says. "Just something simple like that can work to avoid the suicide.”
One highly successful suicide prevention hotline is the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which was a 10-digit phone number until two years ago.
Brown-Woofter says when people call, text or chat with the 988 Lifeline, they’re talking to trained crisis counselors who provide free and confidential emotional support.
“Through May 2024, there were over 179,000 calls in Florida to 988," she says. "And of those, 2,064 included a suicide attempt in progress, and zero of those attempts in progress resulted in a death.”
Brown-Woofter says there are also training programs available for those who want more information about how to help their friends and families.
Florida LEADS Project training
The Florida LEADS Project (Launch Engage Activate Departments and Systems for Zero Suicide) seeks to transform and improve suicide care practices, standards and outcomes in service delivery systems.
The project, funded by a federal grant, provides the following free suicide-prevention training to community partners and the public:
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)
- Available for anyone interested
- Typically 1-3 hour training
- An evidence-based, adult gatekeeper training on warning signs of suicide and how get help for an individual in crisis using the question, persuade, and refer technique
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Available for licensed mental health professionals
- Typically five-day training
- An evidence-based clinical modality show to be affective in reducing risk in adults at risk for suicide. This workshop allows for LMHPs to start using DBT-informed care with patients/clients
Suicide Risk Assessment Training
- Available for health/mental health professionals
- A best-practice, suicide-risk assessment and management training focusing on epidemiology of suicide, risk formulation, referral and risk management plans, engagement and interviewing skills, and continuity of care strategies
Linking Individuals Needing Care (LINC)
- Available for care coordinators/case managers and health/mental health professionals
- A skills-based training that teaches risk-identification skills, rapport-building strategies, continuity of care strategies and steps for collaborating with helping professionals to strengthen systems of care to keep at-risk individuals safe
Safety Planning, A LINC to Life (Linking Individuals Needing Care)
- Available for anyone
- Typically three hours
- A research-informed, skills-based training focusing on the development of a collaborative safety plan for someone at-risk for suicide. Ideal for clinical and nonclinical staff who intervene with people in crisis.
Click here for more information on training offerings.
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