Plumas Rural Services announces that September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and during this month, PRS is highlighting some myths and facts about suicide and informing the public about the free mental health and suicide alertness trainings it offers.
Suicide myths
Myth: Asking about suicide will plant the idea in someone’s head.
Fact: Research shows that asking directly if someone is thinking about suicide will not increase risk. Instead, it can provide relief and open the door for a life-saving conversation.
Myth: People who talk about suicide are just looking for attention.
Fact: Suicidal comments should always be taken seriously. Most people considering suicide give clues or warnings as a cry for help. The person is likely in intense pain and needs support.
Myth: If someone really wants to die, nothing can stop them.
Fact: People with thoughts of suicide often are ambivalent about dying; they want an end to their pain, not necessarily their life. With effective help and support, suicidal crises can be overcome.
Trainings
PRS hosts periodic Connect the Dots online community workshops covering a variety of mental health topics, including suicide alertness. The public is encouraged to participate in these workshops; video recordings are accessible in PRS’s training video library on its website.
Two past videos in particular can help the public understand more about suicide and how to intervene with someone in
crisis: the “Preventing Suicide” session explores protective factors and the importance of early intervention for mental health challenges. The “Suicide Prevention & Awareness” session covers suicide myths and facts, what to say or not to say, and how to help someone struggling with thoughts of suicide. This September’s Connect the Dots topic will be announces on the community training webpage.
PRS is a recipient of a five-year mental health awareness training grant from the federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration and is now nearing the end of the third year of this grant program, which provides mental health trainings throughout Modoc, Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties. PRS’s Community Training Program offers safeTALK, Mental Health First Aid, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training and crisis intervention trainings free of cost to residents of these four counties.
SafeTALK is a half-day, interactive suicide alertness training offering certification. The four-step model assists trainees in identifying when people may be having thoughts of suicide, how to speak with them and how to connect them to safety. “The training gave me practical tools and the confidence to apply what I learned when working with those I serve and people in crisis,” says Ashley Simpson, a 2025 safeTALK participant. “I now feel confident in how to approach and hold these difficult conversations in a way that is supportive, compassionate and informed.” This training is suitable for individuals age 15 and older.
The Mental Health First Aid training is an eight-hour certification course offered online or in person. PRS offers MHFA adult and MHFA youth trainings; the youth training is six hours long. This training equips participants to recognize signs and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. PRS occasionally offers this course tailored for public safety/law enforcement, veterans or those in fire and emergency medical services. These trainings are suitable for those age 18 and older. In 2025, PRS also added the teen MHFA training, which is taught to teens ages 14 to 18 in grades nine through 12. Teen MHFA teaches teens how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges in their friends and peers.
PRS will be offering the two-day ASIST training Nov. 6 and 7 in Quincy. Organizers say this training increases knowledge about suicide, skills to reach out and confidence to help save a life. Participants, 16 and older, learn and practice this life-saving intervention model widely used by professionals and members of the public. Continuing education units are available, and registrants must attend both days in full to receive certification. Training facilitator Gary McFarland has delivered the MHFA training for several years and has just completed certification to deliver the ASIST training.
With a background in law enforcement, McFarland is an especially valuable facilitator for the area’s first responders and law enforcement who are at higher risk for vicarious trauma and mental health challenges that stem from the nature of their work, said PRS. He will deliver November’s ASIST training with Dana Nowling, PRS’ community training manager.
PRS aims to help the communities it serves become better informed about mental health issues and how to spot and safely and effectively intervene in a crisis. More information about mental health and suicide alertness trainings is available from Nowling
via [email protected] or 530-283-2735, ext. 856, or by visiting http://www.plumasruralservices.org.
