Suddenly Fall has arrived! I love the colors, the pumpkins, and even the kids selling wrapping paper. I guess it took many steps to get here, although it seemed to come all at once. That is similar to the work of CrisisLink -- lots of steps toward meeting our goals. In this newsletter you will learn more about our work of preventing crises, suicides, and providing information and referrals. Here are a few highlights.

For example, the Call Center staff developed two new procedures for our volunteers; the first regarding Cultural Sensitivity and the second regarding Referral Advocacy. We developed new training modules for our Training Handbook and began training the newest class of volunteer crisis workers. We also offered in-service training for many of our crisis workers in Domestic Violence 101 as well as Emotional Intelligence.

We also supported the National Suicide Prevention Week (September 8-14) with a variety of activities. One of our volunteers created a design -- a yellow ribbon (the national symbol for suicide prevention efforts) filled with words of support - which was used on t-shirts in support of Suicide Prevention Week.  Our Director of Training also provided the 2-day ASIST training (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), sometimes called Suicide First Aide training.  This training is for those who want to feel more comfortable, confident and competent in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Over one million people have participated in this two-day, practice-oriented workshop. Finally, we asked the local jurisdictions to declare the week of Sept. 8th as Suicide Prevention Week and they did so. I was pleased to receive this proclamation in person from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and thank Alexandria City and Arlington County for their proclamations.

Also of note: CrisisLink underwent the Accreditation site visit for AIRS -- Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. We had submitted and 'passed' the written self-study; the site visit is the last step in the process. Being able to help our callers by linking them to appropriate referrals is key to our work.

I hope you enjoyed reading these highlights.  Have a wonderful fall!

Over the last several months, CrisisLink has responded to requests for training on topics such as: basic suicide prevention, active listening, supporting youth in crisis and suicide intervention cross training. We have worked hard to connect with agencies and build partnerships to help our community as the need for immediate services increase. Our presentations range from small groups of volunteers at other agencies such as a local sexual abuse center, to large groups of over 400 federal employees watching via video connection, to staffing  resource tables at community events. In September alone, CrisisLink trained/presented to close to 500 people in Northern Virginia. Please contact us at information@crisislink.org  if you are interested in training or if CrisisLink can provide you with outreach materials.

CrisisLink has been proud to connect with Project Peace of Arlington County. Project Peace is a coordinated commitment to address domestic violence in our community through a task force. By joining this group, we have been offered amazing training through Doorways, Fairfax County's Office for Women & Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, and Domestic Violence Tier One Certification training. By working together, we make ourselves and the community stronger. Thank you!

Visit  the LifeLine page  (http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/Online) 

for more info on Helping Someone Else Online - it includes info on reporting suicidal posts on Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and MySpace.

Have You Lost a Loved One to Suicide?  

 

A New CrisisLink Offering  

In addition to referrals to local agencies, CrisisLink will soon be offering callers additional help. Starting November 1st, callers needing information and referral services will also be offered a referral follow-up call and referral advocacy services.  Consenting callers determined eligible for this service will be asked during their original call to schedule a follow-up call regarding the referrals given. If  any barrier is described during follow-up, advocacy service on behalf of the caller will be provided as needed until appropriate service(s) have been obtained.