The Clemson University: Upstate South Carolina Mental Health and Sport Initiative brings Mental Health First Aid, NAMI Ending the Silence and supplemental mental health awareness training to athletes, parents and coaches of youth sport clubs in Upstate SC. The program will change the culture around mental health in youth sport by increasing mental health knowledge, reducing stigma, encouraging help-seeking behavior and promoting improved mental health.
This initiative will serve 1500 individuals in 5 years, with 150 youth athletes receiving NAMI Ending the Silence training and 150 parents and coaches from the sport clubs receiving Mental Health First Aid Training each year. Additionally, all participants will be provided access to a mental health paraprofessional embedded within the sport club and to referrals to professional mental health care providers in Upstate SC for further support. The initiative will be brought to teams of 13-19-year-old female and male athletes from Upstate SC. The adult participants in the program will be coaches of the selected youth teams or parents with athletes on those teams, with the aim of having as many athletes as possible with at least one parent involved. Additional demographics will reflect the diversity found amongst the youth across the counties of Upstate SC, including a variety of races, ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses, with special focus in the project on ensuring mental health support for underserved populations vulnerable to health disparities. In an effort to continue to bring the youth sport community of Upstate SC together in a unified way to address the challenges of mental health in the Upstate, an Upstate South Carolina Mental Health and Sport Coalition will be formed with stakeholders from the sport clubs, Clemson University and mental health care providers in the area involved.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: Program goals and objectives are designed to:
• Train individuals within youth sport clubs in Upstate South Carolina (USC) to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders by providing evidence-based mental health awareness training (MHAT) to athletes, coaches and parents.
• Improve the culture surrounding mental health (MH) in youth sport clubs in USC by increasing athlete, coach and parent knowledge about MH, and improving attitudes that promote recognition and/or appropriate help-seeking behaviors.
• Increase the capacity of youth sport clubs in USC to assist with the improvement of the overall mental health status of its members.
• Increase the capacity of youth sport clubs in USC to engage and educate individuals about resources available in the community for individuals with a mental health disorder.
• Increase the involvement of youth sport clubs in USC in long-term sustainability of providing MHAT through youth sport clubs.