Building Skills That Last: Expanding Access to Resilience Training
At the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, training is not simply about gaining knowledge, it is about equipping people with practical skills that can be used in real moments of challenge. As the need for mental health literacy, trauma awareness, and peer support continues to grow, the Institute has made expanding access to resilience training a central part of its mission. Through programs such as GRIT, GRIT Live, First Priority Peer Support, and other trauma-focused professional trainings, the Institute is helping ensure that resilience is not reserved for specialists, but is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and shared across communities.
One of the Institute’s most far-reaching initiatives is the GRIT program, which was originally developed during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to widespread social isolation, uncertainty, and emotional distress. Designed to be accessible and practical, GRIT offers evidence-based strategies that teach participants how to recognize signs of distress, respond with care, and offer meaningful support within their own personal and professional networks. Rather than positioning resilience as an individual trait that one either has or lacks, GRIT reframes it as a learnable set of behaviors that strengthen connection and reduce harm during times of adversity. Since its launch, the program has expanded well beyond its initial context, reaching participants locally, nationally, and globally.
Building on the success of GRIT’s foundational training, GRIT Live brings these concepts into interactive, in-person environments. Through workshops, facilitated discussions, and experiential learning, participants engage with resilience strategies in real time, alongside others who are committed to strengthening their communities. Events such as the annual GRIT Summit exemplify this approach by convening students, professionals, educators, health care providers, and community members for hands-on learning and shared problem solving. These experiences reinforce the idea that resilience is both an individual and collective endeavor, one that grows stronger when people learn together and practice supporting one another.
The Institute also recognizes that different populations have different needs, which is why its training offerings extend beyond introductory resilience concepts. Programs such as First Priority Peer Support focus on equipping individuals to serve as effective Peer Supporters within schools, workplaces, and organizations. Meanwhile, advanced trainings like Trauma Foundations II provide deeper instruction for professionals seeking to build trauma-informed practices into their work. These courses explore how trauma impacts behavior, health, and relationships, while offering concrete tools to support healing and recovery across diverse populations. By layering introductory, intermediate, and advanced training opportunities, the Institute creates clear pathways for continued learning and skill development.
Together, these programs reflect the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience’s broader mission of advancing resilience through research, healing, education, and community empowerment. By prioritizing accessibility, both in content and delivery, the Institute is helping shift how resilience is understood and applied. Participants leave not just with information, but with skills they can immediately use to support themselves and others.
As these training initiatives continue to grow, their impact extends far beyond individual participants. By expanding access to high-quality resilience education, the Institute is helping build stronger, more connected communities throughout the Pikes Peak region and beyond, communities where people are better prepared to recognize distress, respond with empathy, and support one another through whatever challenges lie ahead.
To learn more about the various trainings at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, you can visit the Community Training & Empowerment section of the website here.