Help save a life by learning suicide prevention skills on a two-day course with Suicide Down to Zero
Suicide Down to Zero (SDZ0000) has been running for over 20 years and has provided much support for those families who have lost members to suicide.
But one of the key aims in trying to prevent suicide has been providing constant training programmes offered to everyone in our community to develop the skills to recognise someone who is vulnerable and who may be considered a suicide risk, taking the correct steps to prevent it and getting that person into a safer place.
Pat McGreevy, a founder of SDZ0000, said: “We have a team of very skilled trainers who have worked closely with the participants on the courses across the wider council area.
“The wisdom and experience that people bring to the discussions in the courses is always amazing and it all helps to develop the essential life-saving skills needed to prevent suicide.
“Fundamentally, the participants learn to identify who may be vulnerable – they look for the signs – and they develop the language and techniques for asking that person directly if they are considering suicide.
“They then get that vulnerable person to a safer place where they will not harm themselves past this very intense crisis period.
“So this is a life-changing programme. All of the participants on the course are valued as they work in small groups towards building a reliable suicide intervention model and understand what a suicide prevention plan is.
“And through this learning process, the participants also become self-aware too and they learn to see anything that might block them from making an appropriate intervention.
“The training offered in our next course basically is to recognise the individual persons needs who may be considering suicide and getting them to a safe place. Everyone should do this training. It will save lives.
“After speaking to someone trained through the Asist programme, a study of 1500 people showed that 74% of those considering suicide were less likely to feel suicidal and generally felt less depressed, less anxious.
ASIST 2-Day Suicide Prevention Training
The 2-day course runs at the SERC Downpatrick Campus on Tuesday 19th to Wednesday 20th March 2024.
Times: 9am to 4.30pm (lunch provided).
Course Fee: £25.
Payable at: https://localgiving.org/sdz0000.
Pat McGreevy explained that in 2015 the official suicide statistics in Northern Ireland included deaths through drugs overdoses. This was later changed, and the latest figure in 2022 showed there were 203 deaths to suicide in Northern Ireland.
“Every death is just one too many. We want that figure down to zero” said Pat McGreevy, indicating that suicide is preventable. “He added: “That is why the suicide prevention training is so vital is driving down and eliminating suicide.
“So everyone should learn the essential skills that could protect and save the life of a loved one, a workmate or someone you know.
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