HOUGHTON – No one wants to see an unhappy friend, family member or professional charge sink so deep into depression they begin to think about suicide. But few people really know when to intervene, said Dial Help Executive Director Rebecca Crane.

“We all know CPR, but everyone knows someone at risk of suicide, too,” said Crane, noting few people have any mental health first-aid training.

This weekend, Dial Help is taking a big step to change that, offering a free, two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training course to anyone in the community. The program will run from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, at the Houghton City Center at 616 Shelden Avenue.

The training normally costs $125 but is being offered free this weekend, thanks to financial support from the Superior Health Foundation and Communities United for Suicide Prevention.

Crane said Dial Help first began using the ASIST model to train its own crisis line volunteers and staff.

Once they were trained, calls identified as suicide risks went up. It wasn’t because more callers were in crisis, Crane said, but because staff had previously been missing some less obvious signs of callers at risk.

“A lot of people at risk of suicide aren’t going to come out and say so,” Crane said. “Anecdotally, we were doing a better job of identifying them.”

Recognizing risk is only half the battle. Often, when people realize the need to intervene, they’re hamstrung by their own anxieties and lack of knowledge on how to talk to the struggling person, where to find help and how to convince them to accept it.

“Sometimes our best instincts are counterproductive,” Crane said. “This model not only tells you what to do but how to avoid the pitfalls that make it hard to help someone in a true suicidal crisis.”

Crane said ASIST is designed primarily for those who deal regularly with at-risk communities in their professional life. Anyone can benefit, however, and be better prepared to help a friend or family member in crisis.

“The idea of the model really is that everyone is prepared in the community,” said Crane.

Registration is required, she said, but about 10 spots were still available as of Tuesday. To register, call Kristine Putz by Friday at 482-9077, or email her at kputz@dialhelp.org.