Local Area Part of National Initiative to Increase Mental Health Literacy

PASCO, WA - A young person you know could be experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. You can help them!  On Wednesday, September 25, Educational Service District will offer Mental Health First Aid training. This eight-hour training course gives people the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with a mental health or substance use problem and connect them with appropriate support and resources when necessary. (See attached flyer.)

One in five Americans has a mental illness, but many are reluctant to seek help, or might not know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect. For friends and family members, it can be hard to know when and how to step in. As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not get them until it is too late.

Just as CPR helps even those without clinical training assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental Health First Aid participants learn a 5-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support. 

“Through this program, we hope to take the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems,” says Linda Rosenberg President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, which helped bring Mental Health First Aid to the U.S. in 2008. “When more people are equipped with the tools they need to start a dialogue, more people can get the help they may need.”

Those interested in attending the training should register online at www.esd123.org/learn.  For more information, contact ESD Student Support Director, Dana Camarena, at 509.544.5762.

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To learn more about Mental Health First Aid USA, visit www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org. The National Council for Behavioral Health was instrumental in bringing Mental Health First Aid to the USA and more than 1 million individuals have been trained.