Preserving Life with Words
Two students enrolled in an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and Ask, Care, Escort-Suicide Intervention (ACE-SI) workshop conducted April 15-17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla., act out an emotional roleplaying scenario where one person attempts to persuade another not to take his or her own life through ASIST’s proactive, compassionate approach to suicide prevention. Developed by LivingWorks Education, ASIST has trained more than 1 million people throughout the world on how to apply scientifically tested tools and techniques to reduce the risks associated with suicide. The U.S. Army partnered with LivingWorks in 2009 to integrate ASIST in the Army’s suicide prevention campaign. Since 2012, the number of reported suicides in the Army has decreased by nearly 20 percent thanks in part to interactive programs like ASIST. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. John L. Carkeet IV, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary))
