Resources and Training for Young People
Resources and Training for
If you are looking at this, you might be a young person having a hard time, and wishing there was someone you could talk to.
It is not easy to talk about feelings with adults. You might be worried that they will freak out, or get upset. At the same time, sharing your feelings with them is an important part of getting the help you need to start feeling better. This is a problem that many young people deal with—you are not alone.
If you are worried about a friend who may be at risk of suicide, check out these tips for peers (en español).
Below, we have some resources on organizations to contact if you are in crisis and guidance on how to start hard conversations with the adults in your life.
Get immediate support
24/7 Crisis Text Line – Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 988
Talk to people you trust
This advice can be used for talking with your parents or other trusted adults
- How to talk to your parents about getting help (Child Mind Institute)
- Talking to your parents about mental health (Mental Health America)
The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Their 24/7 Lifeline number for young people is 1-866-488-7386.
Training is available for and about Young People
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) offers More Than Sad, a teen mental health training for high school students, parents, and teachers.
The Trevor Project offers CARE Training: an interactive and intensive training that provides adults with an overview of suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) youth and the different environmental stressors that contribute to their heightened risk for suicide.
Youth Mental Health Webinars: Rhode Island Student Assistance Services (RISAS) has free webinars on a wide variety of youth mental health topics recorded on their website. Topics include everything from supporting your LGBTQIA child, to life after the pandemic, to recognizing substance abuse in young people, to understanding social media and young people.
Training in QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), an evidence-based training about the warning signs of suicide and how to refer a youth for help, is available to all school districts and community organizations. For more information or to request training for your school or organization, contact Program Manager Leigh A. Reposa at Lreposa@risas.org or 401-952-7260.
Elementary, middle, and high schools: The SPI is an innovative and coordinated youth suicide prevention referral system that links elementary, middle, and high school students with mental health services. It diverts at-risk students experiencing a mental health crisis from unneeded emergency room visits and inpatient services by connecting them to local mental health services (Kids’ Link RI) with follow-up support. For more information or to request training for your school on the SPI, contact Rhode Island Student Assistance Services Program Manager Leigh A. Reposa at Lreposa@risas.org or 401-952-7260.
Now Matters Now, a skills-based site grounded in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, offers free training for those with suicidal thoughts, substance or mental health problems or their family members and friends. It also offers courses for healthcare, crisis, peer support service and school counseling providers.
A course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. It focuses on reaching out to provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.
A one-hour training focused on “gatekeepers”—people in a position to recognize a crisis and do something about it. A gatekeeper can be a friend, coworker, teacher, boss, or parent.