(WUSA) -- Mental illness. Just the two words scare a lot of us. Especially after the attacks in Tucson and at Virginia Tech.
This week, Maryland's governor announces a plan to train people at every community college in the state in what's called Mental Health First Aid.
It's a ground-breaking program that's already saving lives.
At the Mental Health Association in Rockville, two dozen staffers from Montgomery College gathered recently to learning a simple way to remember the five steps in mental health first aid. It's a memory device that goes by the name ALGEE:
1) Assess the risk of suicide or harm.
2) Listen non-judgmentally.
3) Give reassurance and information.
4) Encourage appropriate professional help.
5) Encourage self-help and other support strategies.
Experts say people struggling with mental illness are no more likely than anyone else to commit violent acts. But the attack on the congresswoman in Tucson in January -- allegedly by a young man who been ordered away from a community college for bizarre behavior -- has sparked an upsurge in interest in classes in Mental Health First Aid.
"It resonates with anybody who works at a college, because the first thing you think is 'Is that going to happen here?'" says Harry Zarin, a counselor at Montgomery College who was taking the course.
If someone has a heart attack at work, there's probably someone around who knows CPR or how to work the defibrillator. It may be much tougher to find someone who knows how to handle a mental health crisis.
Tony Wright of the non-profit "On Our Own" took the Mental Health First Aid class a couple of years ago. He recalls a phone call he took from a woman who didn't know where to turn. "She said she couldn't go on anymore. She said she was about to commit suicide."
He spent an hour talking to her and calming her down. About a month later, she called again. "I went to the phone and she said, 'I don't know if you remember me, but we talked on the phone when I was feeling suicidal, and I just want to thank you for saving my life." He says it's a conversation he will never forget.
Advocates are convinced getting more people Mental Health First Aid training can help save many more lives.
9NEWS NOW is sponsoring a Mental Health First Aid training session in the coming weeks at Montgomery College.
Keep an eye on wusa9.com for details.
Written by Bruce Leshan
9News Now & wusa9.com