Class to teach suicide prevention methods
TROY, N.Y. » Anyone who knows anyone who could be suicidal and wants to learn more information on how to help someone dealing with those thoughts can do so at a Safe Talk class in Troy soon.
On Tuesday, May 22, the Rensselaer County Mental Health Department and its suicide prevention task force will host a halfday alertness Safe Talk training that prepares anyone 15 or older, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicidealert helper.
Officials said that most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives.
The free Safe Talk class will be hosted at St. Johns Episcopal Church located at 146 1st St. in Troy from 9 a.m. until noon.
Rensselaer County Mental Health Commissioner Kathy Alonge- Coons said that the county’s suicide prevention task force has organized these talks in the past, but not that recently and they felt that they should offer them more often again since the county continues to see confirmed suicide deaths increase each year since 2015.
Alonge- Coons said in 2015, the county saw 8 completed suicides, in 2016 there were 15, in 2017 there were 18 and from Jan. 1 through March 10 of this year, there have been six.
“Our goal is to have zero suicides,” Alonge- Coons said. “[The numbers of suicides] is a concern for us and through the suicide prevention task force we’re striving to come up with ways in which we can achieve zero suicide rate and that’s why we’re offering the Safe Talk. Sadly completed suicides continue to happen in our county and we want to increase people’s awareness and equip folks in terms of how to respond to someone who may be voicing some idea of suicide.”
The Safe Talk will help people recognize some of those signs and how to deal with someone with those thoughts. Alonge- Coons said some of those signs could include things like someone becoming withdrawn, depressed and she said sometimes people will talk about wanting to die.
“Mostly the class is for others who could know someone that could be at risk,” explained Alonge- Coons.” They will learn about how to have a conversation with someone [with suicide thoughts] and they will also learn what resources are available to get that person help.”
To register for the Safe Talk class, organizers are asking people to send their name and contact information to Safetalk776@ gmail.com or call/text (518) 2228650.