41 suicide prevention trainings for Jonathan Brostoff's 41 years: a friend's mission to save lives

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

In the days following Ald. Jonathan Brostoff 's death Nov. 4, Levi Stein, heavy with grief, felt Brostoff's name vibrate on the list of people who planned on attending one of his organization's upcoming mental health events.

Stein, the executive director of the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin , understood how deeply the event would resonate with Brostoff, who struggled much of his life with mental illness. Sunday's event, "One Thing I Wish You Knew," will give four area teenagers an opportunity to share their personal experiences with mental health conditions.

Now, the event is dedicated to his memory. But it's only the beginning of Stein's tribute to Brostoff, who took his own life at the age of 41. In a tour called "We Can Save Lives," Stein has committed to conduct 41 SafeTALK trainings across Wisconsin , free of charge, for every year Brostoff lived. The tour is expected to end in September, right on time for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month .

"When he passed away from suicide, to me, the best response was to make every moment that he had of his life on this world count for as much as possible," Stein said. "And for me, that's SafeTALK."

For Stein, SafeTALK offers some of the most effective, comprehensive and accessible training to recognize when someone's having suicidal thoughts. Over the course of the four-hour training, people learn how to identify the signs, ask the right questions, be the most active listener and direct those in crisis to the proper resources to help keep them safe.

Stein plans to go on the road to any community in Wisconsin who wants the training. So far, Stein has booked 10 upcoming trainings, mostly in the Milwaukee area, but he has 31 more to schedule.

For the first leg of the tour, Stein will conduct SafeTALK trainings at the following times and locations :

Nov. 21, 12 p.m., at the Kelly Senior Center, 6100 S. Lake Dr. in Cudahy;

Nov. 26, 4 p.m., at Chabad of the East Side, 3030 E. Kenwood Blvd. in Milwaukee;

Dec. 9, 4 p.m., at the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, 8649 N. Port Washington Rd. in Fox Point;

Dec. 15, 12:30 p.m., at the Coalition for Jewish Learning (Milwaukee Jewish Federation), 1360 N. Prospect Ave. in Milwaukee;

Jan. 14, 9 a.m., at the Autism Society, 3720 N .124th St,, Ste. O, in Wauwatosa;

Jan 19, 10 a.m., at My Choice Wisconsin, 10201 W, Innovation Dr., Ste. #100, in Wauwatosa;

Feb. 26, 12 p.m., at University School of Milwaukee, 2100 W. Fairy Chasm Rd., in River Hills

"My commitment is to do this at no cost. There's a $45 per person to train, and I'm not sharing that cost with anyone," Stein said. "I'm removing that barrier in memory of Jonathan."

SafeTALK is an 'investment in community' Brostoff, whose death rocked both the Milwaukee community and the state at large, fiercely advocated for suicide prevention, mental health awareness and improved gun control measures, the latter of which he equated to "having your own personal, and permanent, 'delete' button" when you're contemplating suicide, he wrote in an op-ed for Urban Milwaukee when he served as a state representative in 2019.

Mental health awareness was a passion he shared with Stein. During the COVID years when society began to reckon with the country's staggering mental health crisis, Stein obtained his license to be a SafeTALK trainer.

The model intrigued Brostoff.

Not only did Brostoff become trained himself, but he invited Stein to train every leader at Milwaukee City Hall, and then leaders at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, one of whom was Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, who has led the Department of Administration since 2022.

For Blumenfeld, the training offered a safe space for people to share stories of personal strife, which created a felt sense of community in the room. And though broaching conversations around suicide are inherently difficult, the tension and fears lifted in the first 20 minutes of training, Blumenfeld said.

"After 20 minutes, you lose that uncomfortableness. Getting out of your comfort zone is a really healthy thing, especially when it's in a safe space," Blumenfeld said. "I'd really encourage anyone who's just not quite sure to take the leap, because it's well, well worth it, and you may save a life someday, or several lives someday, by having the tools."

For Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, who knew Brostoff well and has engaged in many difficult conversations around suicide prevention and gun safety measures, it's impossible to reduce suicide numbers without first talking about suicide and prevention.

"We need to talk about (suicide) in the community, we need to talk about it with our loved ones and we need to talk about it in the legislature," Andraca said.

One recent study found that only about a third of people who notice suicidal behaviors in others ask them about it. The main barriers for help-seeking include being too embarrassed, shy or fearful of judgment. On the other hand, those who took the SafeTALK training gained suicide-related knowledge, confidence, willingness and improved likelihood of help-seeking.

"I look at it as an investment in yourself and in your community," Blumenfeld said. "I think everybody who takes it will walk out empowered to be helpful."

Wish You Knew, a youth-driven podcast, comes to Marquette University Part of Brostoff's drive for change came out of his own reckoning with mental illness. In his youth, he attempted suicide multiple times, according to his Urban Milwaukee op-ed. As a teenager, he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, severe depression and bipolar disorder.

"I wish those diagnoses and the attendant medications, hospital stays and all of the other steps my family and I took at the time had been enough. But as is the case for many facing mental health crises, they weren't," Brostoff wrote then.

Stein understands that much of the support and care happens ahead of emergency interventions, at the community level. It's a foundational building block of Friendship Circle, whose mission solidified following the suicide death of a Detroit teenager named Daniel Sobel in the late 90s.

It's part of why the Friendship Circle launched the youth-driven podcast, "Wish You Knew" hosted by teenagers, Autumn and Lizzy. Frank discussions on mental health can shed some of the taboos and stigma associated with the heavy topic of suicide prevention.

Sunday's free event, taking place at 4 p.m. Sunday at Marquette Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., will include a mental health vendor fair where 20 local mental health organizations are coming together to offer resources.

"Friendship Circle is really all about friendship. It's about giving people another door to open that isn't suicide, that isn't loneliness, it isn't isolation," Stein said. "That's who we are at our core."

Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at or view her X (Twitter) profile at .