The ASIST NL (ASNL) LivingWorks Trainer Conference celebrated their 30^th anniversary in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada from October 2-5, 2025.   

Members of the LivingWorks global Trainer community arrived from other parts of Canada, Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia and the United States to connect, learn and celebrate with one another.  

Attendees spent time connecting with fellow LivingWorks Trainers and Coaches who share our mission and vision. They deepened their understanding of the LivingWorks ASIST and LivingWorks safeTALK standard procedures with coaching sessions and gained valuable insights from Trainer presentations that shed light on issues which impact building suicide-safer communities. 

There were opportunities to connect with the founders of ASNL, Gerry Dooley and Richard Ramsay, who reflected on the history of the committee and Livingworks.  

A Q&A session discussed the upcoming LivingWorks program enhancements, including a special address from LivingWorks CEO, Lance Armstrong. 

A very special thank you to all the conference presenters:  

• Jonathan Langdon and Judy Kirby featuring the important Peer Support services offered at Lifewise 

• Cumulative Stress: “Small things matter” (Devon Tayler) 

• Radical Resilience (Kathryn VanBoskirk) 

• Our Path of Resilience: Work to Date (Paula Shepard and Sarah Power) 

• Peer Support and PAL – Working Together (Judy Squires and Megan Taylor) 

• It Starts with an Irritant & Turns into a Pearl – Talking about Suicide (Mark Nicholson) 

• Suicide and Manipulation: The Dilemma (Gerry Dooley and Alvin Gillingham) 

• Menopause and Suicide (Alison Armstrong) 

• Hear your Own Stories: Pearls of Wisdom (Marie Murphy and Jenny Pickup) 

• Bins, Boxes and Bags: An Unlikely Story of Pearls (Sonia McDonald) 

• Socratic Processes: Discovering the Pearls of Wisdom about Uncertainty (Monica Kintigh) 

Thank you to the Clarenville Inn and the ASIST NL Conference planning committee for your dedication and leadership. 

Conference artwork: LivingWorks ASIST Trainer – Scott Thistle