When Rabbi Levi Stein started operating Friendship Circle of Wisconsin in 2017, as a bakery that trained people with special needs, he could not have imagined where he was headed.
In a few years, Stein would observe the weight of the pandemic on teen mental health, then assign a new mission to Friendship Circle. Even as the organization opened a Fox Point coffee shop and grew other services, it became a focal point for suicide prevention.
In recent weeks, the journey has led to a new height – the addition of two suicide prevention trainers to the Friendship Circle Mental Health Division.
Both have traveled out of state for training to become safeTALK trainers: Friendship Circle board member Jeff Langer and Kateryna Sylaska, a psychologist and former department chair at Carthage College, who is now employed by Friendship Circle.
At first, inspired by the pressure of the pandemic on teens, Stein started offering 4-hour safeTALK suicide prevention sessions just about every month or two. He launched a mental health hangout session for teens, plus a podcast and large, well-attended, in-person community events.
It all added up to a continuing, multi-faceted Friendship Circle campaign for suicide prevention. Then, nine months ago, Stein’s friend and mental health ally, alderman Jonathan Brostoff, died by suicide. It shook Stein into even greater action.
“Jonathan Brostoff … He was like my connector in chief. Anytime I needed to get anywhere, Jonathan connected me,” Stein said. “He somehow knew everybody, and he would give me intros all the time, especially to bring safeTALK into more places. He was a mental health advocate. He was a suicide prevention advocate.”
“The day he passed, I made a pledge to say that we’re going to ramp up safeTALK and do 41 trainings in his memory, at no cost.”
On Nov. 7, three days after Brostoff’s death, Stein announced a “We Can Save Lives Tour,” dedicated to the alderman’s memory. In tribute to his legacy of service, Friendship Circle has been on a path to conduct 41 safeTALK trainings — one for each year of Brostoff’s life — with a goal of training more than 1,000 participants by Sept. 10, 2025, Suicide Prevention Day. On that day, Diana Vang-Brostoff, the late alderman’s wife is to speak (see story, this page).
Stein has held SafeTALK trainings for groups at a Milwaukee car dealership, at the state Capitol, at schools and at social halls. He’s done it for Jewish institutions but it’s not his focus. He’s out to prevent suicide everywhere.
“It’s really growing,” Stein said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’m in a random event in Milwaukee and someone will come over to me and say, by the way, I took your training. When you train thousands of people that just starts to happen.”
“This work saves lives. Literally. There are so many stories where people didn’t think about talking to their own children about it and have learned post training to how to ask the question. They went home talk to their kids and found out that they had plans.”
He added: “Trainings will continue until we hit zero suicides in Wisconsin.”
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What’s a safeTALK?
Each safeTALK session is designed to build awareness, empathy and proactive intervention skills that can save lives. Attendees learn to recognize the signs of suicide risk and reach out with understanding. The evidence-based trainings were first developed in Canada. More info: Visit Fcwi.org and click on UMatter in the menu bar.
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