Services and Tools for the AMES Community

When creating this list of resources, AMES sought out free, widely available, easily accessible, and respected resources. They also sought out cultural competence, meaning that the resources staff trained professionals who understand military and first-responder culture. AMES does not guarantee the availability of all resources or that all websites, numbers, and other methods of contact are up to date. If users encounter any issues when attempting to contact any of these resources, they are encouraged to perform a web search to verify the most up-to-date information. The viewpoints expressed in linked material or recommended resources do not necessarily reflect the views of AMES or KSU.

In addition to resources and programming provided by AMES, service members, veterans, first responders, or community members may wish to consider the following resources.

  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline

    This is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

    988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

    • Call, text, or chat 988.
    • Call 1-800-273-8255.

    When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary. The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis.

  • Military Crisis Line and Veterans Crisis Line

    Through the Military Crisis Line and Veterans Crisis Line, service members veterans, families, and friends can access free, confidential support 24/7, 365 days a year. You do not have to be enrolled in VA benefits or healthcare to call.

    If you are calling from overseas, use the following numbers:

    • In Europe: Call 00800 1273 8255 or DSN 118
    • In Korea: Call 080-855-5118 or DSN 118
    • In Afghanistan: Call 00 1 800 273 8255 or DSN 111
    • In the Philippines: Dial #MYVA or 02-8550-3888 and press 7

    Military One Source

    • Call 800-342-9647.
    • Start a live chat or schedule a consultation online.

    Military One Source provides free support 24/7 on multiple aspects of military life, including relationship counseling, non-medical counseling for stress relief, financial counseling, document translation, spouse scholarships, education, and career benefits, childcare options, and permanent change of station moves.

  • Emergency Responder Crisis Text Line

    • Text “BADGE” to 741741.

    This is a free, confidential service that is available 24/7 for all emergency responders. Trained counselors can discuss any crisis – work-related, substance use, depression, romantic, financial, or any other.

    Safe Call Now 

    • Call (206) 459-3020 or 1-877-230-6060.

    This confidential, comprehensive, 24-hour crisis referral service is for all public safety employees, all emergency services personnel and their family members nationwide.

    Fire/EMS Helpline

    • Call 1-888-731-FIRE (3473).

    Confidential and 24-hour, the Fire/EMS Helpline was created for first responders by members of the fire service. This program is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of firefighters, EMTs, rescue personnel and their families.

    Copline

    • Call 1-800-267-5463.

    This resource is a confidential, 24-hour law enforcement officer hotline manned by retired law enforcement officers trained in active listening.

AMES OHA Training Catalog

 

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Introduce concepts, tactics, and strategies for managing conflict, such as assertive communication, active and reflective listening, and classifications of common conflict behaviors to boost effective communication.

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Bring self-awareness of one’s financial well-being and how this can affect financial resilience. This training is intended to increase knowledge of basic financial decision-making and understanding to prompt resilience.

  • Length: 1-2 hours

    Purpose: Increase understanding of grief as it relates to public safety personnel. Topics such as grief symptoms, short- and long-term grief, as well as mental health concerns that commonly co-occur with grief are discussed.

  • Length: 1-2 hours

    Purpose: Examine what mental health is and ways to promote one's mental health. Additionally, personnel will gain a better understanding of signs that mental health may need improvement and barriers to getting care (i.e., stigma).

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Bring awareness of the importance of sleep to emergency service workers and how lack of sleep can affect them along with providing information on how to improve sleep hygiene.

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Examine common problems that public safety couples face as it relates to first responder occupations. This training will also discuss relationship practices that promote increased communication and healthy dynamics adaptable to public safety couples.

  • Length: 1-2 hours

    Purpose: Discuss how stress and trauma impact the body, ways to recognize physiological responses to stress, as well as grounding techniques to bring personnel back down from a stress reaction.

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Educate personnel on the difference between alcohol use versus misuse. Further, the training is intended to increase self-awareness of current alcohol use and provide alternative coping strategies to reduce stress and problematic consumption.

  • Length: 4-6 hours

    Purpose: Designed for individuals who want to enhance their mental and emotional well-being and improve their ability to handle stress and adversity.

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Participants will gain a better understanding of suicidal behavior through exploring risk and protective factors for suicide. Ways to become more aware of decreasing risk factors and improving protective factors will be presented. Risk factors that colleagues/clients may be facing will be presented in a case scenario and participants will explore ways to assist with retrieving necessary resources. 

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Increase awareness of lethal means safety planning and the role that this plays in suicide prevention through developing strategies to promote lethal means safety with clients. Participants will explore methods to initiate safety planning conversations and will be provided with resources for crisis intervention.

  • Length: 1-2 hours

    Purpose: Discuss and define trauma and ways to recognize different trauma responses. Trauma Informed Care principles will be discussed, and participants will apply these components in a case scenario. 

  • Length: 1 hour

    Purpose: Define self-care. and explore the dimensions of self-care. Participants will identify circumstances that may require extra attention to self-care. and learn about additional resources available to support your self-care. 

  • Length: 2 hours virtual; 6 hours in-person

    Purpose: Teach personnel a 5-step action plan to provide individuals support during a mental health challenge until professional help is obtained. This training is beneficial in reducing stigma, improving psychological safety, and addressing mental health concerns

  • Length: 3 hours 

    Purpose: Define and discuss postvention as prevention. and the impact of suicide and the grief connected to deaths by suicide. .Explore ways to reduce risk and promoting healing in agencies.. Best practices in postvention planning will be discussed and participants will create agency specific postvention plan and protocols.