Denton County MHMR Center plans to expand current mental health awareness trainings through a five-year Training Expansion Project (TEP). The Center will provide evidence-based intervention trainings such as Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), LivingWorks START Training, and AS+K Training to local organizations and community members in Denton County, TX at no cost. Participants in the trainings will include school personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement, veterans/armed services members, and their families, as well as those who have lost a loved one to suicide.
The TEP Director and Coordinator will educate how to employ crisis de-escalation techniques when encountering a person who may experience or exhibit signs of a mental health crisis. The TEP endeavors to reduce the stigma of serious mental illness and/or serious emotional disturbances by providing trainings through partnerships with at least 50 local organizations in Denton County, TX. Participants will be able to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness and utilize resources and appropriate knowledge through mental health and suicide prevention trainings. The TEP staff will follow-up with each trained organization to offer continued support, additional training, and refreshers, train 100% of Center staff on mental health and suicide prevention gatekeeping, and continue to work towards the Zero Suicide Initiative. In Year 1, 140 individuals will be trained, 210 individuals in Year 2, 260 in Year 3, 415 in Year 4, and 475 in Year 5 totaling 1,500 throughout the lifetime of the project. The Center has already established linkages with schools and community-based mental health agencies in referring and educating individuals of the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services and resources available in the catchment area.