Substance use and suicide risk are major public health concerns in Colorado.

Substance use, mental health, and suicide risk pose major health and safety concerns for youth and adults in Colorado and across the United States. In addition, substance use is a significant risk factor for suicide. Unfortunately, many health professionals lack the essential skills, training, and resources needed to effectively prevent and intervene when substance use and suicide ideation arise. This gap underscores the need for comprehensive training programs to equip health professionals with the necessary tools to jointly address co-occurring behavioral health risks.  

NORC partnered with Peer Assistance Services, Inc. to develop SBIRT-Suicide Care training.

NORC partnered with Peer Assistance Services, Inc. (PAS) to incorporate suicide care into PAS’s standard Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) curriculum, creating a novel approach called SBIRT-Suicide Care (SBIRT-SC). SBIRT-SC is an integrated public health approach that simultaneously identifies and provides care to individuals using substances and/or who are at risk of suicide.

Besides developing the training, NORC demonstrated the training to PAS training and technical assistance providers, held a two-hour Q&A session, and developed a trainers guide to prepare PAS staff to answer implementation-related questions they may receive from trainees. In addition, NORC developed a promotional guide for the training that contained sample communication materials as well as a pre-recorded virtual tour of the training.