How does LivingWorks safeTALK integrate with LivingWorks ASIST?
Although LivingWorks safeTALK and ASIST are separate programs, they are designed to complement each other. The two-day LivingWorks ASIST workshop provides skills to intervene with someone who may be having thoughts of suicide, helping them feel less overwhelmed and perhaps most importantly, the LivingWorks ASIST model also involves creating a safety plan with the person help them keep safe, access help and find hope.   It would not be possible to learn and practice all of the LivingWorks ASIST skills in LivingWorks safeTALK’s half-day timeframe, although many who attend LivingWorks safeTALK later decide to take LivingWorks ASIST. What LivingWorks safeTALK does do is help participants identify people who may be having thoughts of suicide, confidently ask them about the topic of suicide, and connect them with resources that can help keep them safe. This might be a professional caregiver or someone trained in LivingWorks ASIST—often, they’re one and the same! By providing a connection to intervention resources, LivingWorks safeTALK offers an important avenue to assistance when people need it most.   Many communities and organizations use both LivingWorks safeTALK and ASIST. By working in concert, people with LivingWorks safeTALK and ASIST training create a larger, more effective network of safety.