Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Mental Health First Aid for New Hampshire (MHFA for NH) will meet a growing need for community members and caregivers to be literate in critical mental health signs and symptoms and to be better prepared to provide support and referrals to at-risk adults, especially among the rural elderly and the Hispanic/Latinx community. The project aims to increase the number of people who participate in training as well as to increase the number of instructors who actively provide training in the state. MHFA for NH will train educators and volunteers within the NH Cooperative Extension network and other partners in the state in the implementation of the National Council for Behavioral Health's Mental Health First Aid curriculum. These MHFA instructors will offer trainings that will be available to any adult who works with and/or cares for adults (e.g., caregivers, first responders, social service providers) throughout the state. Particular populations of focus will be adults that work with and/or care for rural older adults and urban Latinx, two populations that show increased needs and growing numbers of behavioral and mental health challenges in NH. To accomplish this, along with standard MHFA curriculum, we will utilize Spanish language MHFA resources and increase capacity in New Hampshire to deliver Mental Health First Aid for Older Adults. We will also track referrals to mental health care providers made by the instructors. To develop and coordinate this pool of instructors and to identify and recruit participants for classes, we will work closely with key partners in New Hampshire including the Center on Aging and Community Living, the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) NH, regional public health networks, local Community Mental Health Centers, and the NH Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services. By the end of the grant period, MHFA for NH will have trained more than 1,000 community members and caregivers and will have added more than 50 instructors to the statewide pool. We will aim to have at least 90% of participants report after the training that they are better prepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders (particularly serious mental illness and/or serious emotional disturbances); they are more able to offer initial support to those suffering; and they are more able to refer them to appropriate services.
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).
