To expand Mental Health First Aid training to first responders, educators, older adults, veterans, armed services members, and community members to improve an individuals mental health condition. - Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-based Mental Health Awareness Training, will be augmented and expanded in Stanislaus County, CA to first responders; educators; older adults and caregivers of older adults; veterans, armed services members, and their families; parents and families of youth exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental health issues; and community-based human services staff. Trainings will be offered in either English or Spanish depending upon the participant’s primary language. Total to be trained is 480 annually for a total 1440 unduplicated individuals during the grant period.
Populations of focus for which the training is intended to help are adults, youth, older adults, and veterans. This includes individuals who are homeless that first responders have repeat contact with, Spanish speaking, struggling in school, are isolated both physically and geographically, and cultural groups for which there is stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness.
Goal 1: Educate individuals in Stanislaus County, with a focus on Spanish speaking Latino/a community members, regarding mental illness and community resources available to decrease the stigma associated with receiving services for mental disorders.
Objective 1.1: By February 1, 2019, develop and implement a Mental Health Awareness Training plan utilizing the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid and implement community outreach and engagement strategies to ensure a broad representation of community members and professionals receive MHFA training.
Objective 1.2: By February 1, 2019, all MHFA classroom materials, mental health resources brochures, electronic materials, and flyers will be made available in both English and Spanish.
Objective 1.3: By February 1, 2019, bi-lingual and bi-cultural Spanish-speaking trainers will be available to conduct both MHFA Adult Spanish and MHFA Youth Spanish as requested by program partners.
Goal 2: Increase the number of evidence-based Mental Health First Aid trainings offered in Stanislaus County which will result in an increased number of individuals trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders.
Objective 2.1: Increase the number of MHFA-certified trainers in Stanislaus County by training 3 new trainers to deliver Adult MHFA and Youth MHFA by September 30, 2019.
Objective 2.2: Offer MHFA training an average of 2 times/month for 36 months of the grant period.
Objective 2.3: By September 30, 2021, grant funded trainers will have trained an average of 480 individuals annually for a total of 1440 unduplicated individuals trained.
Goal 3: Enhance the linkages with both school and community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs and symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services.
Goal 4: Increase the number of first responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS, 911 dispatchers), downtown small business owners, elementary and secondary educators, veterans, older adults, and caregivers/parents trained in Mental Health First Aid to improve their ability to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques.
