Bemidji State University’s Student Center for Health and Counseling and the Beltrami Area Suicide Prevention Program are co-sponsoring a series of events in recognition of National Suicide Prevention Week.

Highlighting these events is a free three-hour suicide prevention workshop beginning Sept. 17 at noon. The workshop will be facilitated by Donna Fox, director of education and support programs with the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness.

The safeTALK workshop, listed on the Best Practice Registry of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, recognizes that people experiencing thoughts of suicide often send out subtle invitations to help them stay safe. This workshop teaches participants how to use these opportunities to support that desire for safety. Participants learn to move beyond common tendencies to miss, dismiss or avoid suicide, to identify people who are at risk, and to apply the TALK steps – Tell, Ask, Listen and Keep Safe – to connect a person to suicide first aid resources.

safeTALK is limited to 30; persons interested in participating should contact Jay Passa at the Student Center for Health and Counseling.

Additional Suicide Prevention Week events include:

Sept. 16 – Mental Health Awareness Panel | Hagg Sauer 100, 7 p.m.

Contact

• Jay Passa, health education coordinator, Student Center for Health & Counseling; (218) 755-2080, jpassa@bemidjistate.edu
• Donna Fox, director, education and support programs, National Alliance for Mental Illness (Minnesota chapter); (651) 645-2948 x101, dfox@namimn.org

Links

• Bemidji State University’s Student Center for Health & Counseling
• Beltrami Area Suicide Prevention Program
• National Alliance for Mental Illness (Minnesota chapter)
• safeTALK training

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling nearly 5,000 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.