Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center

The Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, located at 6700 Freetown Road in Columbia (Howard County), Maryland is a private, non-profit organization that provides free hotline, crisis intervention, shelter, and outreach services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In operation since 1970, it is accredited as a crisis center by the American Association of Suicidology, and registered as a charitable organization with the Office of the Maryland Secretary of State, which verifies its compliance with the Maryland Solicitations Act. It participates in both the National [...] Prevention Lifeline and the Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline networks.

In addition to answering hotline calls and providing face-to-face walk-in crisis counseling, Grassroots staff members and volunteers: operate a year-round, 51-bed shelter; manage the Howard County Cold Weather Shelter program, which provides shelter in local churches and synagogues throughout the winter for homeless families and individuals; support the Route One Day Resource Center for the homeless; and staff the Mobile Crisis Team, which responds with Howard County police officers to behavioral emergencies in the county.

In 2010, Grassroots began sponsoring a support group for persons who have lost a family member to [...]. In 2013, it formalized a partnership with the Howard County Public School System to manage Change Matters, a program that teaches students AbOUT poverty and homelessness, and provides opportunities for community service. In 2016, it partnered with the Maryland Department Of Health and Hygiene to develop and launch a free [...]-prevention app,There Is Hope.