View a recording of the webinar on YouTube.
View a recording of the webinar on Vimeo.
Presented by Forefront Suicide Prevention Center and Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans face enormous challenges as they transition from military to civilian life. Family members of veterans also face unique challenges in supporting their loved ones who served. COVID-19 presents new anxieties that may compound these factors. Forefront’s LEARN® Saves Lives for Veterans webinar, presented in partnership with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, offers perspective on the unique challenges Veterans and their families face, and teaches essential skills for support and suicide prevention, specifically tailored to those who have served, their loved ones, and those who work with or support them.
If you love a veteran or are a veteran, join us to learn:
• About the unique challenges Veterans face as they transition from the military to civilian life
• How to make your home safer to prevent the risk of suicide
• How to ask a veteran about suicide in a safe way – whether they are friend, family member, colleague or client
• How to recognize the signs of a mental health crisis and practical steps to address it
About the Presenters
Brett Bass manages Forefront’s Safer Homes, Suicide Aware program. He joined Forefront in 2018 after serving on the Safer Homes Task Force as one of the firearms industry representatives. Brett served as a military policeman in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 2006-2019 with deployments to Latvia, Kuwait, and Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Enduring Freedom. Brett is a firearms instructor for Bellevue Gun Club and has worked in firearm retail, range safety and management. He holds certifications as a range safety officer, chief range safety officer, pistol instructor, rifle instructor, and basic first aid instructor.
Peter G. Schmidt, Psy. D., LMHC is Director of Counseling and Wellness Programs for the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA). Peter is a veteran of the USAF and Washington National Guard Peter and is proud to serve those who served and their family members. He is the co-founder of the Veterans Training Support Center developing trainings on numerous veteran-related topics. He has counseled veterans and family members as a behavioral health subcontractor for the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs in Grays Harbor and Snohomish Counties, and worked with vets during his psychology residency at McNeil Island Corrections Center. Peter is also familiar with higher education as a twice-tenured counselor, psychology faculty, director of counseling, dean and executive director.