giftED22

The Defensive Line presents a two-hour workshop for teachers and administrators focused on suicide awareness, prevention, and action steps for creating a safe environment for students. The suicide prevention workshop is for adults in middle and high schools, particularly focusing on schools with a majority students of color to hold nuanced conversations of race and mental health with educators who have the greatest opportunities to expand their curiosity and create supportive environments for all of their students. The workshop provides guidance on language, listening, and a focus on implicit bias to help educators understand their own greatest strengths so they can support their students by getting them to the proper resources. This suicide prevention workshop is built around the acronym: D-LINES. This training aims to clarify the adult's role in supporting students’ mental health by helping them find ways to naturally connect with students about their mental health and show them how to be the bridge to the resources that exist for their students in need. The training also walks teachers through a step-by-step plan to identify, intervene, and refer students in crisis or in need. The primary aim is to create better connections between the teacher and the student so that when a crisis arises, systems are in place to find appropriate support. The training seeks to answer the question for educators: What is your defensive line for intervening in suicide and mental health crises with your students?