Training Opportunities
At AFM, we know the solution to the epidemic of suicide is the training of compassionate community members. Therefore, we are building proven and replicable models of intervention and a caring network of thousands that are discovering their strength to courageously intervene for those at risk. The result will be a culture of positive community health where individuals find an authentic power to choose their purpose instead of their pain.
Register today for a workshop near you or help bring the training to your community as a sponsor or host. You can also take a webinar from the convenience of your home. |
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Listen Learn Lead (L3 Suicide Intervention)
is a fast paced one-day workshop developed by Kenneth Koon, based on our work with more than 25,000 soldiers and veterans. L3 principles will benefit individuals from all walks of life and offers applications in various life situations. 5 CE credits available for mental health professionals and POST credit for law enforcement. Learn more |
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One Oops Away - One moment we’re strong and the next it seems that every ounce of resilience is gone. Such times can lead to thoughts of suicide even for the strongest of individuals. The starting point for building a culture of community mental health is realizing that we are all only one oops away. This brief introductory workshop in the Stop Suicide Campaign is a great starting point for opening further community discussion and moving to the next level with one of our 1 or 2-day workshops. Learn More
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Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
is designed to help all caregivers become more ready, willing and able to help persons at risk. Prepared caregivers can help prevent suicide. Our facilitators are Master Trainers of ASIST. 13 CE credits available for mental health professionals and law enforcement personnel.
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safeTALK is a half-day alertness workshop that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Since its development in 2006, safeTALK has been used in over 20 countries around the world.
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suicideTALK is a 1.5- to 2-hour exploration in suicide awareness taught as a virtual pre-requisite course. Organized around the question, "Should we talk about suicide?" it provides a structure in which session members can safely explore some of the most challenging attitudinal issues about suicide, and encourages every member to find a part that they can play in preventing suicide.
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Mental Health First Aid
Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack — even if you have no clinical training — Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health related crisis. You learn about:
Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well. |
To further expand the efforts of the No More Suicide Campaign AFM offers brief 60 to 90 minute webinars that can be custom designed to a particular group.
"We had 13 states represented! It was a great experience and our Buddy Team wants us to do it again! Thank you and your team at Armed Forces Mission for taking the time to create this webinar for us! We look forward to working with you!" Nick and Jan Catinna PTSD Projects |
Kenneth Koon, D.Min serves as the lead facilitator for AFM's Intervention Institute. Ken was recently honored as the 2016 Trinity Awards Emergency Responder of the Year. His work in intervention and emergency response spans more than two decades and includes service in fire and police departments, military units, hospitals, schools and the community at large. In his assignment as the primary suicide intervention officer for a US Army Reserve Brigade covering 13 states he was able during his tenure to sustain a ZERO suicide rate from 2010 to 2015, before being called to work in a Command covering 40 states with a 575% higher rate of suicide than the public. In 2013 Ken developed the first LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) Team for the state of Georgia and hosted Georgia’s first LOSS Conference in August of 2016 with participants from five states attending the event. Ken serves as Executive Director of Armed Forces Mission and is the developer of the Listen Learn Lead (L3) Suicide Intervention Model. He has conducted more than 600 successful suicide interventions using L3 since 2013. Ken serves as the CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Chaplain for the Peachtree City Police Department; and is a a member of the Georgia Chiefs of Police Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Credentials
Credentials
- Master of Divinity
- Doctorate in Counseling
- Clinical Pastoral Education
- Command General Staff College
- Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
- 2016 Trinity Awards Emergency Responder of the Year
FAQ
Who should take the I WILL INTERVENE CHALLENGE?
Anyone wanting to learn the skills that are saving the lives of those at risk of suicide should take the Challenge. AFM workshops are also approved to provide CE credit in the state of Georgia for mental health professionals and nurses. Due to the content of the workshop the minimum age for participation is 16.
Why use the word “Challenge”?
Many people don’t know how to broach the subject of suicide when they see the signs. Additionally, the discussion of suicide is very difficult for many people; especially those who have experienced loss of loved ones or friends by suicide. It's the white elephant in the room; the subject we dare not mention. Yet every year more people die by suicide than from automobile accidents. Suicide in the U.S. is also 2.5 times higher than the homicide rate. Suicide, like cancer or heart disease, is part of the human condition. The goal of the workshop is to develop courageous communities by training as many people as we can from all walks of life; this is our greatest challenge.
How are workshops conducted?
Small group discussions and skills practice are based on adult learning principles using a practical guide to doing suicide interventions. Powerful videos and simulation exercises support learning. Participants learning objectives include:
•Identify individuals at risk
•Understand how beliefs and attitudes can affect intervention
•Seek a shared understanding of the reasons for dying and living
•Review risk and develop a plan to increase safety
•Follow up on safety commitments
What are AFM's core values?
We believe that life is sacred and that (barring other mental health issues) a major cause of suicide is overwhelming feelings of hopelessness. We believe that resilience is fundamental to total well-being. We believe resilience is strengthened through faith, prayer exercise, healthy family relations, honesty about struggles and a community network of positive role models. We believe resilience skills can be learned to aid in overcoming life challenges. We believe individual resilience strengthens the community as a whole.
Does one suicide lead to another?
Whenever there is a suicide in a community the risk for that community is greatly increased. Faithfully and directly dealing with the issue of suicide is really no different from dealing with any other epidemic crisis. If a community suddenly experienced an outbreak of Malaria there would be an immediate call for vaccines in order to inoculate those at risk. The same is true of suicide. After a loss time is of the essence; delays in response have the potential of bringing fourth more pain and sorrow for the community.
What about the stigma?
We are not on a mission to “stamp out stigma”. It is our belief that such a mission would actually increase stigma; it’s the labeling paradox. However, we do believe stigma is reduced through open, honest discussions and training. Rather than attempting to reduce stigma we seek to raise awareness of the human condition. We talk about the “white elephant”; we embrace reality, in so doing communities are strengthened and lives are saved.
Why should we partner with AFM for a community workshop? AFM staff hase worked with more than 32,000 military personnel and civilians. Our facilitators are certified Master Trainers with backgrounds in crisis intervention training through law enforcement, military and hospital chaplaincy, and pastoral care counseling. Education of our facilitators includes: Doctorate in Counseling, M.Divs, Master’s in Crisis Management and certifications as Master Trainers in Suicide Intervention, Mental Health First Aid, Strong Bonds, Ethics, and Personal Resilience. AFM’s Lead Facilitator, Kenneth Koon has briefed Army personnel on the subject of suicide at the Pentagon, US Army Military Intelligence Command, US Army Medical Command, 99th Regional Support Command, Command Sergeant Majors Conference, 80th Training Command, as well as various churches, hospitals, schools, and community groups. He is also actively engaged in personal suicide intervention and lives by the model he teaches others.
Anyone wanting to learn the skills that are saving the lives of those at risk of suicide should take the Challenge. AFM workshops are also approved to provide CE credit in the state of Georgia for mental health professionals and nurses. Due to the content of the workshop the minimum age for participation is 16.
Why use the word “Challenge”?
Many people don’t know how to broach the subject of suicide when they see the signs. Additionally, the discussion of suicide is very difficult for many people; especially those who have experienced loss of loved ones or friends by suicide. It's the white elephant in the room; the subject we dare not mention. Yet every year more people die by suicide than from automobile accidents. Suicide in the U.S. is also 2.5 times higher than the homicide rate. Suicide, like cancer or heart disease, is part of the human condition. The goal of the workshop is to develop courageous communities by training as many people as we can from all walks of life; this is our greatest challenge.
How are workshops conducted?
Small group discussions and skills practice are based on adult learning principles using a practical guide to doing suicide interventions. Powerful videos and simulation exercises support learning. Participants learning objectives include:
•Identify individuals at risk
•Understand how beliefs and attitudes can affect intervention
•Seek a shared understanding of the reasons for dying and living
•Review risk and develop a plan to increase safety
•Follow up on safety commitments
What are AFM's core values?
We believe that life is sacred and that (barring other mental health issues) a major cause of suicide is overwhelming feelings of hopelessness. We believe that resilience is fundamental to total well-being. We believe resilience is strengthened through faith, prayer exercise, healthy family relations, honesty about struggles and a community network of positive role models. We believe resilience skills can be learned to aid in overcoming life challenges. We believe individual resilience strengthens the community as a whole.
Does one suicide lead to another?
Whenever there is a suicide in a community the risk for that community is greatly increased. Faithfully and directly dealing with the issue of suicide is really no different from dealing with any other epidemic crisis. If a community suddenly experienced an outbreak of Malaria there would be an immediate call for vaccines in order to inoculate those at risk. The same is true of suicide. After a loss time is of the essence; delays in response have the potential of bringing fourth more pain and sorrow for the community.
What about the stigma?
We are not on a mission to “stamp out stigma”. It is our belief that such a mission would actually increase stigma; it’s the labeling paradox. However, we do believe stigma is reduced through open, honest discussions and training. Rather than attempting to reduce stigma we seek to raise awareness of the human condition. We talk about the “white elephant”; we embrace reality, in so doing communities are strengthened and lives are saved.
Why should we partner with AFM for a community workshop? AFM staff hase worked with more than 32,000 military personnel and civilians. Our facilitators are certified Master Trainers with backgrounds in crisis intervention training through law enforcement, military and hospital chaplaincy, and pastoral care counseling. Education of our facilitators includes: Doctorate in Counseling, M.Divs, Master’s in Crisis Management and certifications as Master Trainers in Suicide Intervention, Mental Health First Aid, Strong Bonds, Ethics, and Personal Resilience. AFM’s Lead Facilitator, Kenneth Koon has briefed Army personnel on the subject of suicide at the Pentagon, US Army Military Intelligence Command, US Army Medical Command, 99th Regional Support Command, Command Sergeant Majors Conference, 80th Training Command, as well as various churches, hospitals, schools, and community groups. He is also actively engaged in personal suicide intervention and lives by the model he teaches others.