Eastern Shore, MD —In early October 2024, Affiliated Santé Group, with grant support, sponsored a five-day ASIST Suicide Intervention Training For Trainers in Easton, MD. Five Eastern Shore Santé staff were certified as ASIST trainers with the goal of holding workshops throughout the Eastern Shore for mental health professionals as well as the community at large. ASIST is for anyone!
After several months of preparation and practice for the trainers, Santé kicked off their inaugural training in a two-day workshop. 13 Santé staff were trained in ASIST Suicide Intervention. This group consists of clinicians, call center counselors, certified peer support specialists, mobile crisis workers, and an education and outreach coordinator.
Thank you, Affiliated Santé Group, for your dedication to providing ASIST training throughout of the Eastern Shore in an effort to meet people where they are with dedicated and well-prepared life-assisting caregivers. Also, a special thank you to Harris Teeter Easton, and Weiss Markets Easton for providing breakfast and lunch for the two days of this training.
At Santé, we help families, adolescents, and individuals on the Eastern Shore stabilize during a mental crisis. As the Eastern Shore’s primary mental and behavioral health crisis intervention resource, we provide 24/7 crisis intervention for adults, children, and communities. We work with community partners to offer dynamic, comprehensive, and tailored care that focuses on each person’s health rather than the difficulty itself. Ultimately, our team of licensed counselors, therapists, clinicians and peers, is committed to individuals and families, so no one ever walks alone.
More about ASIST Suicide Intervention Training
As the world’s leading suicide intervention workshop, LivingWorks’ ASIST program issupported by numerous evaluations including independent and peer-reviewed studies. Results demonstrate that ASIST helps participants become more willing, ready, and able to intervene with someone who has thoughts of suicide.
ASIST is proven to reduce suicidality for those with thoughts of suicide. A 2013 study that monitored over 1,500 suicidal callers to crisis lines found that callers who spoke with ASIST trained counselors were 74% less likely to be suicidal after the call, compared to callers who spoke with counselors trained in methods other than ASIST. Callers were also less overwhelmed, less depressed, and more hopeful after speaking with ASIST-trained counselors.
ASIST is a resource for the whole community. It helps people apply suicide first-aid in many settings: with family, friends, co-workers, and teammates, as well as formal caregiving roles. Many organizations have incorporated ASIST into professional development for their employees. Its widespread use in various communities creates a common language to understand suicide safety issues and communicate across different organizational backgrounds.
Learn more about Affiliated Santé Group at www.santeeasternshore.org. To learn about the ASIST Suicide Intervention workshops being offered by Santé, call Kathy Hanna, 301.832.6550.
