September is National Suicide Prevention Month

In recognition of Suicide Awareness Month, Grassroots Crisis Intervention is encouraging the community to learn about local efforts to help individuals who have expressed thoughts of suicide. The Howard County-based crisis intervention center, which was established more than 50 years ago, includes on-site counselors, Mobile Crisis Team responders and others who have been trained in suicide prevention.

Grassroots serves as a call center for 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support via call, text or chat with behavioral health crisis call specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to people in crisis.

The Grassroots crisis hotline received 72,949 calls from people in distress last year. Its specialists are available round the clock to listen to people in need and provide professional counseling and intervene in crises of every kind. In addition to crisis hotline calls, counselors had 3,165 face-to-face contacts last year.

Grassroots is one of the selected agencies in the State of Maryland to provide the Maryland 211 Program, which responds to people in the region who are struggling with mental health issues. The 211 Press 1 option is designed to prevent suicide, as well as provide substance use intervention and assist in other mental health emergencies.

In addition, the Mobile Crisis Team (MCT), which includes Grassroots clinicians and members of the Howard County Police Department, responds to calls related to individuals who express thoughts of suicide and provides immediate support to families in cases of a completed suicide. Mobile Crisis Team’s clinicians assess for risk of suicide and provide a safety plan and resources for suicide prevention and support. If mental health hospitalization is warranted, the clinicians will facilitate transportation. Last year, MCT responded to 1,278 community emergencies in Howard County.

Grassroots also provides long term support for people who have lost a loved one to suicide through Survivors of Suicide Loss, a free and confidential support group that helps survivors cope with the tragedy and grief of losing a loved one to suicide. To register, contact Ashley Badgley, ashley@grassrootscrisis.org.

Grassroots provides the county’s only emergency shelter and 24-hour crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and support for individuals and families with a mental health, substance use or homelessness crisis. For information, see www.grassrootscrisis.org, or call 410-531-6006.