| Volunteering or working for an organization dealing with sensitive issues requires a special type of person. One must participate in a screening and training process as well as commit to ongoing learning and development to ensure that their skills and knowledge remain sharp and current. When providing support to people who have experienced trauma in any form, one must be prepared to support and intervene with someone who is contemplating ending their life of what they have experienced.
For this reason, the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre (WSAC) of Renfrew County organized “Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training” (ASIST) to be delivered to three full time staff members and 35 volunteers in Renfrew County as part of their training and ongoing skills development. Participants were from the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre (WSAC) and from the Renfrew County Victim Crisis Assistance & Referral Service (RC VCARS). WSAC provides emotional and practical assistance to women who have experienced a sexual assault. RC VCARS provides emotional and practical assistance to people who have experienced any form of crime or tragic circumstance.
ASIST is a two-day intensive, interactive and practice-dominated course designed to help caregivers recognize risk and learn how to intervene to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Providing opportunities to learn new skills and refresh old skills is extremely important for suicide intervention.
Funding for the training was secured through the Skills Development component of the Eastern Ontario Development Program, administered by the Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation.
The training sessions were held in November 2007 at the Marguerite Centre in Pembroke. In addition to the specific suicide intervention skills gained, the sessions also gave volunteers an opportunity to network with each other, while the initiative enhanced collaboration between the volunteers of the agencies.
Volunteers for these agencies have the skills, compassion and understanding to truly make a difference in Renfrew County. | 
