Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
The Warriors Supporting Wellness (WSW) project provides Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings to individuals who interact with first responders, active military, veterans, and their families in a 10-county region located in the Mid-to-Southwestern portion of Ohio. Trainings will focus on the Youth, Public Safety, EMS/Fire, and Military/Veterans modules of the curriculum, training 300 people per year and 900 throughout the lifetime of the project. With Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) located within the catchment area, this geographic region experiences higher than average rates of behavioral health issues, including higher rates of mental illness, major depressive episodes, unintentional drug overdoses, and suicides when compared to the state of Ohio’s rates. These data are attributed to the repeated exposure of stress experienced by community warriors, defined as first responders – law enforcement, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), dispatchers, and fire department personnel – as well as active military men and women, veterans, and their families. This recurring stress often leads to vicarious trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, other forms of anxiety and depression, co-occurring substance abuse, compassion fatigue, and burnout. WSW will implement a minimum of 12 MHFA trainings per year. The training model integrates multiple trainings to achieve a comprehensive plan for mental health awareness, including the Public Safety, EMS/Fire, and Veterans/Military modules of MHFA, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings, and Trauma Informed Policing. The Youth MHFA curriculum will target schools immediately contiguous to WPAFB. Individuals chosen to become MHFA instructors will be individuals who can speak to the unique experiences of this population, the traumas they have witnessed or experienced, and the challenges experienced by their families. Trainees will learn to identify the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, and how to de-escalate incidences, access community resources, and address mental health crises. The project’s goals are to have a sufficient amount of certified Mental Health First Aiders in the catchment area who: 1) experience an increase in mental health literacy; 2) report an increased capacity to respond to community warriors’ mental health issues; 3) experience an increased awareness of mental health issues and mental wellness; 4) provide referrals and links to community based mental health services to community warriors; and 5) build collaborative partnerships between relevant community agencies and programs that are engaged with warriors. Measurable objectives include: 90% improvement in the knowledge of sign, symptoms, and risk factors of mental illnesses and substance use disorders; 90% increase in help-seeking behaviors; 75% improvements in their own mental wellness; 90% improvement in the knowledge of professional and self-help mental health resources; 80% improvement in the level of confidence in providing help to individuals experiencing mental health problems; and 80% reduction in perceived stigma towards mental health disorders.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
