Umatter
For information about Umatter Programs, training, and technical support, please contact us at info@healthandlearning.org
To download a PDF which describes all of our Umatter Programs, click HERE
Everyone has a place in the Big Picture. Everyone has a contribution to make, something important to do, and a purpose waiting to be fulfilled. We want to give people the message that feeling down or depressed is a common experience.
Reaching out for help is a healthy response and, when trauma hits, help is especially important. Asking for help does not mean that they are helpless or that they cannot do things on their own. It is an act of courage, not a sign of weakness. We want people to know that they can go to a trusted peer or adult for help and they will be able to respond or connect them to professionals who can help.
We want to offer hope by helping people connect to their family, their friends, their community, and helping professionals. We must learn to make these connections for each person individually by focusing more on their assets than on their liabilities, building on their strengths, and offering support.
Umatter Gatekeeper Training
Umatter Gatekeeper Training is a training that enhances an individual’s knowledge, attitudes and skills to recognize and identify other individuals at risk. It teaches lay and professional “gatekeepers” the risk factors and warning signs of suicide so they can intervene and respond appropriately.
Umatter for Schools
Umatter for Schools Suicide Prevention is a two-day training program that provides school teams, which include an administrative liaison, teachers, administrators, counselors, nurses and other staff, with the knowledge and skills to develop a comprehensive, asset-based approach to suicide prevention at their school. Teams are encouraged to bring a mental health professional from the community that they work with.
Umatter Training of Trainers
Most people are likely to reveal their despair and intent to hurt themselves to others and adults around them. When prepared, youth, adults, and professionals can respond correctly when anyone needs help. Umatter Suicide Prevention Training of Trainers trains participants to identify, intervene, and get help for dealing with suicidal ideation and plans.
Umatter for Communities
When a suicide occurs it affects an entire community. This program educates the professionals that work within our communities to be effective in suicide prevention efforts. With the goal of strengthening the mental health and wellness of our communities and averting crisis, these trainings are designed for community professionals who work in the areas of law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency care, social services, mental health, faith services, health care, youth services, counseling, and funeral services. Involving professional groups in suicide prevention efforts creates “prevention- prepared” communities, ready to prevent suicide and/or respond should such a tragedy happen.
Umatter for Youth and Young Adults
Umatter for Youth and Young Adults is a youth leadership and engagement initiative. The goal is to promote mental health wellness: healthy coping mechanisms among youth and young adults, and the ability to recognize when a peer needs help and how to provide it. The aim is to foster healthy community cultures for youth and young adults that promote mental health and resiliency, and which address issues such as bullying and substance abuse prevention within a continuum from prevention through recovery.
Umatter Public Information
Umatter also includes a public information campaign. The central message of this campaign is that you matter because you may need help, and you matter because you may be in a position to help.
Suicide Prevention Resources
For Hotlines & Screening Tools, click here.
For Information About Vermont Suicide Prevention, click here.
For School, Community & Professional Resources, click here.
Vermont Suicide Prevention Center
The Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH) is working in partnership with the Center for Health and Learning (CHL) to continue the development of the Vermont Suicide Prevention Center (VT-SPC), a state-wide resource fostering a sustainable approach to suicide prevention in Vermont. The existing body of advisors and stakeholders for the VT-SPC is the Vermont Suicide Prevention Coalition (VSPC). This coalition represents a broad array of constituents, including state and private agencies, institutions of higher education, a variety of professions, and survivors of suicide.
Campus Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Suicide is the leading cause of death among college and university students in the United States. In addition, many other college and university students have suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide. Suicide and suicidal behaviors are a major concern for colleges and universities, and efforts are underway to intorduce suicide prevention programming on many campuses.
A goal of The VT Suicide Prevention Center is to promote and support the development and implementation of young adult suicide prevention and intervention strategies at Vermont institutions of higher education in order to prevent suicide among Vermont young adults. In order to achieve this goal we have organized meetings and trainings for teams of faculty and staff to come together and strategize their campus capacity and approach to suicide prevention.
The Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium
This cross-agency statewide event brings together professionals across all sectors for a day of learning from national experts on critical topics and skills in suicide prevention. The day is designed to support statewide suicide prevention efforts and local communities in implementing the recommendations of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the Vermont Suicide Prevention Platform using data-driven and evidence-based practices.
