Training Sessions Offered

Over the course of the year, Grassroots offers a variety of training sessions for Howard County and non-Howard County residents.


Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don’t need any formal training to attend the workshop—anyone 16 or older can learn and use the ASIST model. For more information about this training go to https://www.livingworks.net/programs/asist/


Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. For more information about this training go to https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/


Safe Space

Safe Space training is a suicide prevention and intervention model that focuses on the LGBTQ+ population and the increased risk for suicide.  The training discusses how to better support these individuals and their loved ones in accessing care and treatment, differences in acceptance and tolerance, the history and evolution of language in the LGBTQ+ community, sexuality issues and gender specific issues, and their impacts on mental health. The training program combines cultural competence with prevention and intervention strategies to reduce stigma, reduce suicidality, and ultimately save lives.

Question Persuade Refer (QPR)

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide.Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying “Yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. QPR can be learned in our Gatekeeper course in as little as one hour. For more information about this training go to https://qprinstitute.com/professional-training