ESCANABA — Soul Shop, a faith-based suicide prevention workshop, will be in Escanaba on April 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 500 Ogden Ave.

The target audience for this one-day workshop is pastors, minster, clergy and benefits counselors, lay ministry leaders, first responders and essentially anyone interested in learning how to effectively minister to those impacted by suicide.

“Given that 6% of adults and 17% of adolescents are thinking about suicide at any given time and 50% of any congregation is impacted by suicide in some form, this is an issue that the church cannot avoid. “Communities of faith have both a theological obligation and a call by God to face this challenge head on, equipping members to do the same.” Michelle Snyder, Soul Shop executive director.

Soul Shop workshops includes addressing the primary obstacles to dealing with suicide such as stigma, fear, and shame; statistics/facts about suicide; and how ministries can create a supportive environment while shifting the culture around how people deal with this subject and one another.

Since its development in 2014, Soul Shop has trained thousands nationally and internationally in suicide awareness and has facilitated the development of suicide prevention plans within numerous community teams.