LivingWorks: A Calgary start-up that saves lives every day

LivingWorks is a Calgary-based company that has been saving lives for over 35 years. How? Through suicide awareness and prevention education. And with the toll the pandemic is having on mental health due to economic and emotional stress, this education has never been more important.

Started in the early 1980s by a group of researchers with diverse backgrounds in social work, psychiatry, and counseling, it has gone on to become known as the gold standard when it comes to effective suicide awareness and prevention training. A majority of LivingWorks’ programs are delivered face-to-face by a network of over 8,000 trainers worldwide. If you’ve taken ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) or safeTALK training, then you know LivingWorks.

While face-to-face training is currently not possible, LivingWorks has an alternative: an online program called LivingWorks Start. This groundbreaking, evidence-based program is especially useful in these times of social distancing when training can’t occur in person, but the need is possibly at its greatest.

LivingWorks Start teaches trainees to recognize when someone is thinking of suicide and connect them to support. It can be taken in about an hour by anyone 15 or older and includes powerful simulations where you interact via voice or text drills to increase your skills. The training prepares people to watch over their co-workers, friends, and family members to keep them safe, even from afar. You don’t need to be a mental health specialist to learn these skills—just someone with a willingness to help.

Businesses across Alberta and beyond are taking measures to keep their employees safe, and LivingWorks Start is one of the tools they’re using. In sensitivity to the current economic challenges, LivingWorks has lowered the price of this training, and 25% of the proceeds are going to suicide prevention organizations in need during this pandemic. To learn more about LivingWorks Start, please reach out to start@livingworks.net or call 587.482.2029.