Suicide Prevention Education for Workplace Settings
October 19, 2021 - 10:00am
As we wrap up Suicide Prevention Month, we are proud to announce that ABC and GCI is partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to present an informational webinar titled Talk Saves Lives: Suicide Prevention Education for Workplace Settings - Construction Edition. The construction industry sadly has the highest rate of suicide, it is up to all of us to know the warning signs, steps to take in prevention, and how to help someone we think may be at risk.

Developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, this webinar is a standardized, 60-minute educational presentation designed to be delivered to organizational leadership, managers/supervisors, employees, and other workplace professionals in the construction and extraction industries.

Talk Saves Lives provides participants with the scope of the problem of suicide, key research findings, including risk factors and warning signs for suicide, along with recommendations for the role we can all play in suicide prevention.

Topics covered include:
  • Scope of the Problem: The latest data on suicide in the U.S. and worldwide
  • Research: Information from the latest suicide prevention research
  • Risk Factors and Warning Signs: Information on health, historical, and environmental factors that put individuals at risk for suicide along with suicide warning signs
  • Prevention: An understanding of the protective factors that lower suicide risk, and strategies for managing mental health and being proactive about self-care
  • What You Can Do: Guidance on how to get help for yourself or someone else in a suicidal crisis
Meet the Speakers
Brian Berkel
Recently retired after 25 years with the Massachusetts State Police as a Detective Lieutenant, Brian Berkel spent 18 years as a detective with the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, and spent 20 years with the State Police Crisis Negotiation Team. He has been a board member with the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention and a suicide prevention trainer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for more than 10 years.
 
Heather White
After nearly losing her life to depression and suicide, Heather White dedicated her personal and professional life to mental health advocacy and suicide prevention efforts. She is the Area Director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention chapters in Massachusetts and Vermont, a member of the Executive Committee for the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, an ASISIT trained suicide intervention caregiver, and a suicide prevention trainer.
Get Involved with AFSP

The Community Walks, held in hundreds of cities across the country, are the core of the Out of the Darkness movement, which began in 2004. These events give people the courage to open up about their own connections to the cause, and a platform to create a culture that’s smarter about mental health. Friends, family members, neighbors and coworkers walk side-by-side, supporting each other and in memory of those we’ve lost. Learn more here.
For questions or comments contact Dan Gearin at [email protected] or 781-273-0123 ext. 1103
ABC Massachusetts
100 Unicorn Park Drive, Suite 1 | Woburn, MA 01801
(781) 273-0123