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YOU
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A Life

SafeTALK suicide prevention
program teaches lifesaving tools.

A

Ronelle Grier

re you thinking of suicide?”
This is not a question anyone wants to ask,
but it could be the one question that can help
save a life, according to SafeTALK, a suicide alertness
training program I attended last month.
As a journalist, I have written many stories about
teen suicide and mental health issues; I’ve always con-
sidered it an important topic worthy of discussion and
dissemination. So, when I heard about the SafeTALK
training led by Rabbi Yarden Blumstein of Friendship
House, I decided to attend, along with my daughter,
Lily, on break from Washington University in St. Louis.
Both she and her brother, Ethan, a grad student
at University of Michigan, have known people who
have taken their lives in recent years, and I know other
families whose lives have been touched by this tragedy.
If there is a way to help stop our young people from
leaving us too soon, I knew I wanted to be part of that
solution.
The goal of SafeTALK is to develop a community of
“alert helpers” — people of all ages who are trained
to recognize the signs of suicide and lead the at-risk
person to someone who can provide additional help.
Suicide rates are rising, especially among young people

Suicide Prevention
Resources

National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline (24/7)
1-800-273-8255
suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Common Ground Resource
and Crisis Center (24/7)
1-800-231-1127
commongroundhelps.org

Rabbi Yarden Blumstein
Friendship Circle of Michigan
(248) 788-7878
yarden@friendshipcircle.org

and members of the LGBTQ community. Suicide is
now the second-leading cause of death for people
age 15-24, and the timing is ripe for programs that
will create a suicide-safer community.
“Ninety-six percent of people who attempted sui-
cide have tried to tell someone first,” said Blumstein,
who has devoted himself to raising suicide aware-
ness within the local community and across the
country. He explained that many people miss the
cues or do not act upon them because they feel
unequipped to handle the situation.
SafeTALK emphasizes that one does not have
to be a professional therapist to help, just a caring
friend, neighbor or relative who is willing to take
the time to listen and ask the right questions. It is a
simple program that anyone can put into action.
“Wanting to die is different from not wanting to
live,” Blumstein explained. “We have to meet these
people in the middle.”

THE ESSENTIALS

The TALK in SafeTALK is an acronym for the basic
components of the program: Tell. Ask. Listen. Keep
safe.

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August 31 • 2017

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