Scott Payne of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, or TSPN, will offer a free one-hour gatekeeper training program for all who want to learn more about suicide prevention on Saturday, August 22, at Grace Lutheran Church. The church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge.
The presentation, which is titled “Addressing Suicidal Ideation and Behavior,” will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the church fellowship hall. Free child care will be provided.
The training is appropriate for anyone who may come in contact with a person who is having suicidal thoughts and wants to help that person choose life, a press release said.
In information provided by Payne, he noted that the training is a customized version of the evidence-based, best practice “Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)” suicide prevention training and that it will enhance each participant’s awareness of their values, attitudes, and beliefs regarding suicide.
Payne also said the training will provide general suicide awareness information and present the risk and protection factors and warning signs of suicide. He added that it offers a non-confrontational but effective means for engaging actively suicidal persons, the press release said.
The training is approved by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Division of Substance Abuse Services, and it is funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee.
Payne is a regional coordinator for TSPN. Prior to his hiring as a regional coordinator, he was a longtime volunteer with the Network and a frequent liaison between TSPN and Family and Children’s Services (FCN) in Nashville. He served as director of Crisis and Information Services for FCN, overseeing programing and volunteers in addition to work as facilitator of FCN’s Survivors of Suicide Support Group in Franklin, Tennessee.
The press release said Payne served as a case manager for Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope (TORCH) before joining the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. He has experience as coordinator for the Vanderbilt University Medical Group Call Center.
He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and a Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt.
For more information, call (865) 483-3787.
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