In the 1980’s, the founders of LivingWorks were delivering Training for Trainers (T4T) courses across Canada, building the LivingWorks Trainer network and furthering the goal of helping to keep communities around the world safer from suicide.
LivingWorks founders Bill Lang and Roger Tierney were a part of these T4T teams in 1988. 36 years later, one of the Trainers who received certification from a T4T is celebrating delivering 356 LivingWorks ASIST workshops!
Lucia Lee, who recently received the LivingWorks Gold Trainer Award, says she is blessed to have known Lang and Tierney, who helped start her Trainer journey. When she completed her T4T, she had recently become the Executive Director of a youth services agency and knew that the staff – and subsequently the youth in care – would benefit from suicide prevention skills training.
Lee recognized the youth who came into care often had complex needs, sometimes stemming from family and friends who had died by suicide.
“I thought the staff in this agency needed to have some training. I knew what I wanted them to have, but I didn’t know what it would entail for me. Eventually myself and another colleague began training all our staff in that agency,” says Lee.
Her first 110 workshops were delivered with the same co-trainer while they were both with the same agency. After leaving that role around 10 years ago, Lee would complete another 240 LivingWorks ASIST workshops.
“It’s a gift to facilitate these workshops. The participants have so much to offer, and they give so much to the workshops,” says Lee. “It’s been a remarkable journey.”
One of Lee’s most memorable moments from her Trainer journey is when she presented a LivingWorks ASIST workshop certificate to both a learner and her service dog.
“In the introduction section of the first morning, she started talking and her voice started to quiver. The dog stood up, and when she started to talk about her story and what was going on in her life the dog moved around her wheelchair and put his front two paws right on her shoulder,” says Lee. “We were all so moved. At the end of the workshop, I made sure that the dog got a certificate to go along with hers. That was a very special moment.”
Lee says she has learners from all walks of life attending her workshops and believes the growing conversations around mental health have led to individuals across the board becoming more aware of the importance of suicide prevention training.
These growing conversations have led to an increased need for suicide prevention skills training. As the number of LivingWorks Trainers continues to grow, Lee has found herself in a mentorship role as new Trainers arrive.
“I really believe that by facilitating a workshop with new trainers particularly, they have the newest information from their T4T and I feel like I’m always learning,” says Lee.
“I love being a mentor, I think it is a fabulous role to take on.”
– Lucia Lee
As Lee continues to deliver LivingWorks ASIST and safeTALK workshops, she highlights the importance of self-care and recognizes the sun is slowly beginning to set on her time as a Trainer.
“I really believe in self-care, that is so important. We preach it all the time, and so sometimes you have to remember to do that for yourself, too,” says Lee. “I hope to reach 400 ASIST workshops. I have 45 safeTALK workshops as well, so I’m hoping to reach 50 for that one.”
On June 21, Lee received the LivingWorks Gold Trainer Award for her incredible achievement of 350 ASIST workshops, and her continued efforts toward creating suicide safer communities across the globe. She says this award represents all the work she has done across her career.
“I know that by facilitating workshops, I am helping to save one life at a time. That’s my motto. This is about saving one life at a time,” says Lee. “It’s been an absolute honor and a pleasure, and I will continue to deliver workshops for as long as I can.”
LivingWorks has a network of more than 7000 trainers across the globe! To learn more about becoming a Trainer, visit our become a Trainer page.
