Thursday, June 12, 2025
6/12/2025
Mental Health Awareness Training- St. Louis Area - Project Name: Mental Health Awareness Training-STL Project Summary: To address the barriers to access behavioral health services and the increase in individuals with mental health problems in the St. Louis area, PreventEd, formerly National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse – St. Louis Area (NCADA), will partner with Kids Under Twenty-One (KUTO) to implement additional mental health awareness trainings in Eastern Missouri school districts. Population Served: This program will provide mental health awareness training for high school students, teachers, and community members. The primary population of focus is high school students in Eastern Missouri that can benefit from mental health awareness and resources. Strategies/Interventions: This project will provide the three evidence-based mental health curricula implemented through the National Council on Behavioral Health: Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA), teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA), and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). These curricula train participants to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders or onset, early intervention and crisis intervention, along with de-escalation techniques. PreventEd and KUTO will provide resources for mental health referrals and ongoing services. This project will initially focus on six school districts in Eastern Missouri, and will begin in one building in each district. Trainees that complete tMHFA, YMHFA, or MHFA will be provided with resources that have been offered for greater than two years through PreventEd and KUTO. Goal: To increase the capacity of school district personnel in Missouri’s Eastern Region to recognize onset or signs of mental health concerns and make referrals as appropriate. Objectives: 1. Deliver training to one entire grade level in designated buildings across at least six school districts in tMHFA annually. 2. Deliver the YMHFA trainings to 10% of each intended school staff annually. 3. Deliver one YMHFA training to 20 community members in each district annually. 4. Deliver one MHFA training to 20 community members in each district annually. 5. Increase the number of referrals to mental health resources by 30% between years 1 and 5. 6. By the end of the grant, 75% of training participants will report an increase in knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental health and substance use challenges. 7. By the end of the grant, 75% of training participants will report an increase in confidence to help a youth or peer in need of mental health services. 8. By the end of the grant, 75% of training participants will report an increase in likelihood to help a youth or peer in need of mental health services. Number Served: PreventEd anticipates training 2,590 people in year one. An additional 740 people will be trained per year in years 2-5, for an estimated total of 20,350 people trained.
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).