General Resources – Suicide Prevention

The VDH Suicide Systems Project is not directly associated with the below resources. If you have questions about these offerings, please feel free to contact us.

Get Help Now

Crisis Text Line – Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support via mediums people already use and trust.

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential.

Now Matters Now – We’ve been there too. Whether it’s suicidal thoughts, addiction, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or grief—you’ve got choices here. We’re a non‑profit community, everything here is free.

The Trevor Project – The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. We provide information & support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7, all year round.

Lethal Means Safety

Virginia Lock & Talk Project – Lock & Talk is a suicide prevention initiative in the state of Virginia that strives to encourage community conversation around mental wellness and promote safe care of lethal means, including firearms and medications.

Suicide Prevention Training

CALM: Counseling On Access to Lethal Means – Counseling on Access to Lethal Means is a free, self-paced, online course for health care and social services providers.

CAMS: Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality – Backed by 40+ years of ongoing clinical research, the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) is a patient-centered, suicide-focused, clinical philosophy of care based on empathy, honesty, and trust.

Soul Shop Faith Based Suicide Prevention – Soul Shop’s mission is to equip faith community leaders and congregations with the tools and knowledge to effectively minister to individuals and families impacted by suicide, offering compassionate support, guidance, and hope.

QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) – A 1-2 hour gatekeeper training for general audiences. The goals of this training are to enhance general awareness about suicide through public education, teach community members the warning signs of suicidal thinking and behavior, and teach three basic intervention skills that can help avert the tragedy of suicide. QPR does not include suicide risk assessment.

SafeTALK (Suicide Alertness for Everyone) – A four-hour training program that teaches participants to recognize and engage persons who might be having thoughts of suicide and to connect them with community resources trained in suicide intervention. SafeTALK stresses safety while challenging taboos that inhibit open talk about suicide. The ‘safe’ of safe-TALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ letters stand for the practice actions that one does to help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and Keep Safe.

ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) – A two-day intensive, interactive and practice-dominated course designed to help caregivers recognize and review risk, and intervene to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The learning process is based on adult learning principles and involves highly participatory workgroups. Graduated skills development is achieved through mini-lectures, facilitated discussions, group simulations, and role plays. ASIST is the most widely used, acclaimed and researched suicide intervention training workshop in the world.

Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk: Essential Skills for Clinicians – A 14-hour interactive training based on 24 core competencies derived from empirical evidence that comprehensively define the knowledge, skills and approaches required for effective clinical risk assessment and treatment of individuals at risk for suicide. This course provides ways to assimilate gained knowledge and skills using a multimodal learning plan with self-paced, online interaction, virtual instruction, and group and dyadic exercises case application exercises.