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.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Training provides an introduction to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) study. You will learn about how early adversity as a child can affect one throughout their life and steps we can take towards addressing the trauma and creating safe environments and relationships. Understanding ACE’s will help support the work and relationships you have with others. This is offered in various formats.

ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) is a two-day face-to-face workshop featuring audiovisuals, discussions, and simulations. The training is open to community members 18 or older with no clinical background necessary. Participants learn signs of possible suicide risk, how to work through a verbal intervention with the individual with thoughts of suicide and develop a plan to keep the person safe in the short-term, before the longer-term care takes place. CEUs are available.

• Minimum class size: 15
• Maximum class size: 30 (3 trainers)
• Maximum class size: 45 (4 trainers)

Adult Mental Health First Aid is an eight-hour course primarily intended for adults to learn how to help others experiencing mental health challenges or crises. It reviews the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems that individuals could experience and emphasizes the importance of early intervention. The course features audiovisuals, discussions, and activities. The course is offered in virtual and in-person formats and has multiple curricula designed to focus on populations such as Fire/EMS, Veterans, Police, and Higher Education.  

• Minimum class size: 8
• Maximum class size: 30

A six-hour course for community members 18 or older covering NEAR Science, Brain States, and ROLES strategies for individuals seeking a trauma-informed certification.

• It is a prerequisite for additional CRI courses
• See event listing for class size as per location

A six-hour course for adults 18 and older that uses the science of resiliency to prevent and address trauma and build culturally and contextually resilient individuals and communities.

• Course 1 is a prerequisite for this course
• See event listing for class size as per location

Lock and Talk is a thirty-minute or one-hour presentation on the important role that lethal means safety plays in preventing suicides. The presentation will provide practical tips and valuable information about securing or removal of lethal means and how to recognize when to talk to a person at risk and take action.

• Minimum class size: 10
• No maximum class size

Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) is a gatekeeper training that teaches individuals how to talk with someone who may be suicidal, learn more on how to prevent suicide, identify warning signs of suicide and how to get help for someone in a crisis. This course is typically one hour long and is offered in-person and virtual formats.

SafeTALK is a three-and-a-half-hour suicide alertness skills training open to all community members 16 and older. The course will use audiovisuals, presentation, and practice to help anyone be more alert to signs of suicide risk and become the catalyst to care, linking a person with thoughts of suicide to someone able to work through an intervention.

• Minimum class size: 8
• Maximum class size: 30

Youth Mental Health First Aid is an eight-hour course primarily intended for adults to learn how to help young people experiencing mental health challenges or crises. It reviews the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents ages 12-18 and emphasizes the importance of early intervention. The course features audiovisuals, discussions, and activities. This course is offered in both in-person and virtual formats.

• Minimum class size: 8
• Maximum class size: 30