(CHCC-CGC) — The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation-Community Guidance Center certified 34 individuals in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training or ASIST on April 20 and 21, 2022, on Rota.
ASIST is an evidence-based suicide intervention training program that provides participants with the skills necessary to connect, understand, and assist persons who may have thoughts or are at risk for suicide. It provides personalized, life-assisting, first-aid intervention training that reinforces help-seeking behaviors for those at risk for suicide.
Since 2018, the CGC has certified 461 individuals in ASIST in the CNMI: 384 from Saipan and 77 from Rota. Plans to offer the training in Tinian are in progress.
The two-day workshop on Rota, held at Mama D’s Café, included participants from the CGC Crisis Counseling Program, CGC Behavioral Health Response Program, Rota Health Center, Department of Public Safety, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Division of Youth Services, and the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
Fred Fatialofa and Queayla Sablan from CGC facilitated the workshop. For more information on ASIST, visit www.livingworks.net, or call the CNMI Suicide Prevention Program at (670) 664-LIVE (5483).
Help is always available from the Community Guidance Center. If you or someone you know are feeling alone and uncertain of the way things are, reach out and call the CGC office at (670) 284-0843/0847 or (670) 323-6560 for mental health support and coping skills.
For more information about CHCC programs, follow @cnmichcc on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; visit https://www.chcc.health; or call (670) 234-8950.
Participants pose with facilitators Fred Fatialofa, last row, far right, and Queayla Sablan, front row, third right, after completing the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training.
