7:30-8:15 AM – Registration Check In
• Welcome food and beverages
• Visit local resource and vendor/activity tables
8:15 AM - WELCOME
Barb Smith, Executive Director of the Barb Smith Suicide Resource & Response Network
8:20 AM - "START THE CONVERSATION" with Kevin Briggs and Kevin Berthia
a suicide presentation for health care and behavioral health providers
9:15-9:35 AM - REFRESHMENT BREAK
9:35 AM - "START THE CONVERSATION" Q & A with Kevin Briggs and Kevin Berthia
10:30-11:00 AM - VIEWING OF EXHIBITION TABLES
Our guest speakers Kevin Briggs and Kevin Berthia are traveling from California. The duo will share their lived experiences leaving participants with a better understanding of the "why" of suicide.
Kevin Briggs was the Guardian (police officer) of the Golden Gate Bridge that helped move people from a place of hopelessness to a place of safety. Kevin’s quote, “sometimes the longest journey we can take is just 18 inches...from our head to our heart.” Kevin Berthia is a young man who survived a near suicide attempt. Kevin Briggs spent 92 minutes talking to Berthia as he stood on the ledge of the bridge. Berthia will share his perspective from a person who struggles with thoughts of suicide.