MVAA offers suicide first aid training

LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (MHSP) team hosted two LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST) trainings in March. Attendees learned how to recognize signs of suicide, offer lifesaving intervention support and connect people to safety.

"ASIST is more than a training - it's a powerful way to bring communities together around a shared responsibility to look out for one another," said MVAA MHSP manager Erika Hoover. "We're not just building individual skills; we're creating networks of people who are prepared to recognize when someone is struggling and step in with confidence and care. We're proud to help equip our communities to become suicide-safer, one conversation at a time."

Founded in 1983, LivingWorks is the world's leading suicide prevention and intervention training organization. The public service corporation provides unique, quality training opportunities that empower individuals, organizations and communities to work together to keep people safer from suicide.

Members of the MHSP team are certified instructors in ASIST and safeTALK and will continue to bring life-saving trainings to communities around the State of Michigan. The MHSP unit also coordinates the Link2Life program that employs a community health technician and veteran mentors across the state to provide direct support to veterans and their loved ones.

Link2Life offers Michigan veterans immediate and ongoing support such as education on suicide prevention, benefit coordination, emergency assistance and outreach to identify those at risk of suicide. Link2Life is open to all veterans from any branch of the United States Uniformed Services, along with families of enrolled participants.

To participate in the Link2Life program, veterans can call the MVAA's Michigan Veteran Resource Service Center at 1-800-MICH-VET (800-642-4838).

Please note that the Link2Life program is not a substitute for the Veteran Crisis Line. If you or a loved one is in crisis, dial 988 then press 1 to talk to a caring, qualified responder.

The MVAA also encourages community members, businesses and healthcare institutions throughout the state to participate in the agency's Michigan Veteran Connector Program. Earlier identification of service members, veterans and their families allow for referrals to be made proactively prior to a crisis. The more connected veterans are to the benefits and resources they have earned through their military service, the lower their risks are for suicide and other self-harming behaviors.

Email [email protected] to learn more and to become a Michigan Veteran Connector.

To learn more about suicide first aid training, contact Jonathan Garvey at [email protected].

Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency - The MVAA is the central coordinating agency, providing support, care advocacy and service to veterans and their families. As a state agency, MVAA works to identify and break down barriers veterans face in employment, education, health care and quality of life, to make Michigan a great place for veterans and their families to call home. More information about MVAA is available at Michigan.gov/MVAA or by reading our FY25 Annual Report.