When a neighbor’s tractor gets stuck, you don’t hesitate to help. But when you see a family member, friend, or client stuck in a rut—and possibly suicidal—it can be daunting to try and help and can leave you feeling powerless. Suicide is a significant public health issue in Minnesota. It involves the tragic loss of human life and causes agonizing grief, fear, and confusion in families and communities. The impact can even extend across generations.

This training teaches in-depth skills you can learn in half a day. You’ll learn how to recognize someone having thoughts of suicide, how to engage them, and how to make sure they get help. This evidence-based training is effective for people as young as 15. All six sessions will include a unit specially designed to address the stigma associated with suicide and mental illness among farmers and farm workers.

Who should attend?

Farmers, lenders, mediators, agency staff, clergy, educators, veterinarians, health care and social service providers, agricultural advisors, businesspeople, and anyone else who interacts with people who farm.

Registration: http://safeTALK-agriculture.eventbrite.com

This training is free. Pre-registration is required. Enrollment at each location is limited to 30.

2019 dates

December 12, Willmar, Ridgewater College

December 13, Mankato, South Central College

2020 dates

January 22, Waite Park, Minnesota State Quarry Center

Learning objectives

This training challenges attitudes that inhibit open talk about suicide and will teach you to:

• Recognize a person who might be having thoughts of suicide

• Learn how to address stigma associated with suicide and mental illness.

• Engage people at risk of suicide in direct and open talk about it.

• Listen to their feelings about suicide to show that they are taken seriously.

• Move quickly to connect the at-risk with someone trained in suicide intervention.

About the instructor

Chaplain (Colonel-Retired) Glen Bloomstrom is the Military Representative and Faith Community Liaison for LivingWorks Education, an international suicide intervention training company. He is also an adjunct professor at Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis. Glen served on active duty as a US Army chaplain for 30 years. His expertise includes suicide prevention, pastoral counseling, and military deployment. He is a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and serves on the Faith Communities Task Force