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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The city's Department of Community and Human Services will host a free, virtual suicide prevention training Tuesday afternoon, part of an ongoing series of community workshops aimed at building a regional network of people equipped to recognize and respond to a crisis.
The two-hour Question, Persuade and Refer training, known as QPR, will run from 1 to 3 p.m. via Zoom. Registration is open through the city's calendar at apps.alexandriava.gov/Calendar.
QPR teaches participants three steps modeled after CPR: how to ask someone directly about their well-being, how to encourage them to seek help, and how to connect them with appropriate professional resources. The training is designed for laypeople — friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers — rather than clinicians.
The city offers QPR alongside other mental health programming, including the eight-hour Mental Health First Aid certification and Lock & Talk, which distributes free firearm locks and medication lock boxes. Information on those programs is available at alexandriava.gov.
Tuesday's session is one of several recurring trainings hosted by DCHS and partner organizations, including the Suicide Prevention Alliance of Northern Virginia.
If you or someone you know needs help
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call or text 988 to reach a trained crisis counselor. Veterans can press 1 after dialing or text 838255. Spanish speakers can press 2. The Lifeline also offers a chat option at 988lifeline.org.
For Deaf and Hard of Hearing callers, dial 711 and connect to 988, or use the chat feature.
In Alexandria, the Department of Community and Human Services Emergency Services line is 703-746-3401. For immediate emergencies, call 911.
