Anishinaabek Community and Family Services (ACFS) staff Jessica Gillotte, Marlo Derry and Margaret Gaus attended Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) in Hessel this June, hosted by the Living Works Organization.

The two-day training consisted of sharing personal stories of suicide and how it has affected each participant as well as the trainers, learning about the Pathway for Assisting Life or “PAL” model and putting the model into practice by roleplaying as caretaker and a person at risk of suicide.  

The group will be returning in September and the staff would encourage more participants to attend—everyone should become skilled in assisting someone at risk of suicide.

The National Suicide Prevention LifeLine is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).