First responders who handle mental health emergencies in Oak Park will get dedicated training at a daylong Suicide Awareness Summit on Friday, Sept. 25.

The Village of Oak Park and nine partner organizations are staging the event at the Hyatt Lodge Conference Center in Oak Brook, with sessions running from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Oak Park Police Department said in a Thursday, Sept. 3, Facebook post that the summit includes programming built for EMS personnel, focused on suicide prevention, intervention and self-care.

The EMS track is one piece of a broader event. According to the summit's official website, the intended audience also includes mental health clinicians, teachers, police and fire department members, and people with lived experience of mental health crises. The summit is titled "Healing Together: Mental Health, Community, and Connection."

The event committee draws from 10 organizations across the western suburbs. Cheryl Potts, executive director of the Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township, and Chelly Richards, Sara Semelka and Vanessa Matheny of the Village of Oak Park are among the organizers. Cook County Department of Public Health, Oak Park Township, Thrive Counseling Center, NAMI Metro Suburban, Riveredge Hospital, Proviso Township Mental Health Commission and West 40 also have representatives on the committee.

Registration costs $150 through Sept. 25 and is available through Eventbrite, according to the Village's public health newsletter.

Attendees can earn up to five continuing education units. Illinois-licensed social workers, counselors and educators are all eligible for CEU credit. The summit will feature eight or more speakers with professional or lived expertise, though the full session agenda has not been published. Registration also includes exhibitor resource tables, continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments.

The venue is not in Oak Park. The Hyatt Lodge Conference Center sits about 12 miles west of the village, at 2715 Jorie Blvd. in Oak Brook.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.