safeYARN Training

Indigenous-Led Suicide Prevention Skills Training

We know that due to factors including the ongoing impact of colonisation, suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are currently twice that of non-Indigenous communities, with young people particularly at risk. Addressing this requires community-led initiatives that respect cultural protocol and empower Indigenous leadership, working toward a common goal of reducing suicide in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities.

• Indigenous Trainers leading suicide prevention skills workshops tailored specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Training program developed across 6 years in consultation with 90+ communities in Australia.
• Guided by Cultural Protocol beginning with community consultation to meet a community’s individual self-identified needs.

Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives.

safeYARN 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. This workshop is designed for Indigenous People, or those working with Indigenous people, to learn how to help and support someone with thoughts of suicide in a culturally appropriate, relevant and respectful way. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeYARN-trained helpers can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in I-ASIST. The program is based on LivingWorks’ 3.5 hour mainstream training – safeTALK. safeYARN provides a culturally relevant framework for identifying a person who may be thinking of suicide, asking that person directly about suicide, and supporting them through their suicidal crisis by linking that person to an I-ASIST trained caregiver. safeYARN is ideal for community and service providers who would like to learn basic suicide intervention skills.