Hire Jeff Yalden for your School Community Today!
“In the next decade we will see a 31% increase in teen suicides, drug addiction, and alcohol abuse.”
Every school community going through a crisis has different thoughts, concerns, wants, and needs. I understand this; I know that I am a guest working in conjunction with you – the school administration and the school counselors. I’m open to hearing the direction you want in this potential visit.
To answer your immediate questions, it is important to me that you understand – my visit is about my providing a positive, influential experience to assist the school community in moving forward – together! I never want to leave pieces for counselors and/or parents to clean up. Focusing on progress and healing, I want to make sure you understand my visit won’t be about rehashing what happened; I focus on assisting a community on processing what has happened and moving forward at least a step or two each and every day . . . in a positive and healthy manner.
I researched programs I’ve done in the past that were well-received and greatly successful, therefore, here is a suggested outline for you to consider:
Options to Consider:
* Note: No matter the program choice, a counselor or administrator needs to be with me at all times.
- One-Day Program (One School)
I will…
- Arrive early morning
- Lead a School Assembly or Two Assemblies (back to back)
- Meet with Counselors (30 minutes), focusing on:
- Perseverance
- Validation
- Self-Care
- Meet with individual students, small groups, classes, and/or individual classrooms
- Present Teacher In-Service – Suicide Prevention & Reasons Why Students Commit Suicide
- Present “Living Forward” Workshop for teachers, parents, students, administrators, & the community
- Present a Parent/Community Program, covering –
- Raising teens in a digital world and the impact this has on their well-being
- Signs and symptoms of teen depression and teen suicide
- Validating the importance of parental involvement and understanding the sensitivity of today’s teenagers
- My theory on teen suicide and mental health involving our youth
- and more . . .
- Two-Day Program
I will…
- Arrive early morning
- Greet students & welcome them to school
- Teach “The Green School Program”
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Adult?” (For teachers/administrators):
- This workshop includes more specific training
- This workshop includes tools such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, & bandanas
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Peer?” (For individual students, small groups, classes, or specified classes.)
- This workshop includes more specific training
- This workshop includes tools such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, & bandanas
- Provide Life Coaching where needed
- Be a positive presence in the building
- Fulfill designated needs of the school and/or community
- Present a “Living Forward” Workshop for teachers, parents, students, administrators, & the community
- Present a Parent/Community Program, covering –
- Raising teens in a digital world and the impact this has on their well-being
- Signs and symptoms of teen depression and teen suicide
- Validating the importance of parental involvement and understanding the sensitivity of today’s teenagers
- My theory on teen suicide and mental health involving our youth
- and more . . .
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Adult?” (For teachers/administrators):
- Three-Day Program
I will…
- Arrive early morning
- Greet students & welcome them to school
- Teach “The Green School Program”
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Adult?” (For teachers/administrators):
- This workshop includes more specific training
- This workshop includes tools such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, & bandanas
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Peer?” (For individual students, small groups, classes, or specified classes.)
- This workshop includes more specific training
- This workshop includes tools such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, & bandanas
- Provide Life Coaching where needed
- Be a positive presence in the building
- Fulfill designated needs of the school and/or community
- Meet with Administration and Counselors in order to…
- debrief the visit
- answer questions
- have a game plan in place
- analyze what is going to change and how
- discuss the feedback from the visit
- go over any thoughts
- create a plan for moving forward
- Attend at least one athletic event (VERY valuable and important)
- Local Boys and/or Girls Varsity game(s)
- “Who wants to be a Trusted Adult?” (For teachers/administrators):
Descriptions of Programs/Workshops:
- Living Forward Workshop: Who We Are, Where We Are, Where We Are Going –
Creating a Game Plan for Success
This workshop is challenging, inspirational, and life changing. Partner up, team up, and let’s get ready to look at yourself from the outside in. We’ll create a game plan for life and success. We’ll analyze participants’ purpose, review current situations, and create new plans. Participants will learn how they are viewed by others and how to incorporate personal and professional changes for a greater positive impact on life.
- Suicide Prevention: For School Communities in Suicide Crisis Situations
No administrator is ever given a guide on how to deal with the loss of a student or staff member to suicide. Moving forward after a suicide can be very tricky.
This presentation teaches the community how to grieve and how not to let the loss(es) define who the school community is. My main message is one that centers on – “It’s okay to ask for HELP!” I assist and encourage students to find trusted adults and not to be afraid to talk to them. I engage my audience(s), I bring seriousness with a touch of humor, and I talk about difficult, hard truths.
This is an investment into the well-being of your school climate and culture. We need to do everything possible to prevent another suicide. We need to become a more proactive, positive resource for our youth by implementing “Trusted Adults” and “Trusted Peers” on campus.
Also, it is my mission to help change the culture and attitudes of the community through my speaking, by being a positive presence in the hallways, in meeting with teachers, by attending sporting events, and by my encouraging parents to be more involved.
During the parent and community presentation, I will teach how to recognize the signs, symptoms, and threats of suicide as well as the appropriate action to take if there are visible “Red Flags”.
I explain to every client, “I am the guest, I respect all your staff and teachers, please use me as a tool however you see fit and don’t worry about working me too hard. This is why I am here, and together we are going to tough hearts . . . and change lives.”
School designated student leaders will also go through training, earning “Trusted Peer” status. Each designated “Trusted Peer” receives a symbolic green bandana and a t-shirt. Green bandanas signify to other students that they are “Trusted Friends”: peers they can talk to without being judged.
Teachers, staff, and students go through in-depth training in order to learn how to respond to a situation when a student is in crisis. They will learn the questions to ask, how to recognize “red flags,” and what to do when they see them. They will learn signs, symptoms, direct verbal clues, indirect verbal clues, behavioral clues, and situational clues.
Through role play, they will learn how to handle a variety of situations and think on the spot. Their responsibility is to persuade and refer the student to a counselor, a social worker, or a school psychiatrist.
I will also help your school create a “Trusted Club” on campus that will be headed by a counselor or two. They will meet once a month with open enrollment for students interested in learning more about mental health and self-care. Monthly activities should include stress-relieving practices such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practice.
The purpose of the “Green School Program” is to save lives through trusted relationships and to let every student know that they are cared for, that school is a safe place, and that there is more to life than academic prowess or athletic achievement.
