Each of us is more likely to come in contact with someone having an emotional crisis than someone having a heart attack or choking on a piece of food.

MHFA’s 10-year goal is for this training to become as common as CPR and First Aid training. Outcome data show participants leave the training with a new set of skills, including:

• Improved recognition of mental disorders• Better understanding of treatments• Greater confidence in providing help• Decreased social distance from people with

mental disorders• Increased help provided to others• Enhanced ability to advise people to seek

professional help

First Aid courses are common and often required by employers. We know it’s important to have the skills to respond to a co-worker, friend, neighbor or loved one in cardiac distress. But would you know how to render Mental Health First Aid?

Twenty-six percent (26%) of all adults in the United States will experience a mental illness in any given year. That means there is hardly a person in our community whose life won’t be touched in some way by someone struggling with a mental health issue. Unfortunately, we often don’t know what to do or how to help before a situation escalates and a crisis unfolds.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)MHFA training is designed to change that picture

and increase the well-being and safety of the community. MHFA is a novel public education program that teaches people to recognize and respond to people with mental health problems or in a mental health crisis. The program started in Australia in 2001 and has expanded to 14 countries, including the United States.

The innovative program teaches people a five-step process to assess a situation, select and implement appropriate interventions, and help a person in crisis or developing the signs and symptoms of mental illness. The program equips people to provide initial help until appropriate professional, peer or family support can be engaged. Participants also learn about the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis and addiction.

As Linda Rosenberg from the National Council often points out, preparation and training can help manage a crisis wherever it takes place and offer support to someone to avoid a crisis in the first place.

Mental Health First AidTaking the lead locally on a global strategy

Would you know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of someone struggling with depression or experiencing a panic attack in a crowded room? Would you know what to do?

First introduced in 2001 in Australia, Mental Health First Aid training programs have expanded to the U.S. Community Centers have provided training to over 3,300 individuals since the program started in Texas in 2008. For more information about the program, visit the Texas Council of Community Center’s MHFA page at www.txcouncil.com/centerspromote.aspx.

Local Leadership and CommitmentIn Texas, Community Centers have taken an active role in bringing this global initiative to local communities

by committing time and resources to developing certified trainers, teaching courses throughout the community and promoting awareness of Mental Health First Aid.

According to the National Council, Texas has 127 certified MHFA trainers, and 65% of those trainers work for Community Centers. In 2011, Community Centers held over 90 trainings throughout the state, training over 1,500 individuals from all parts of the community.

Trainees from across Texas have included staff from: law enforcement, churches, colleges and universities, city bus services, libraries, hospitals, businesses, community service agencies, first responders, CPS, military and property management. Since the program began in 2008, Community Centers have trained over 3,300 individuals.

Community Centers know the value of having partners in the community that have the information, skills and confidence in recognizing mental health problems, providing initial help and guiding a person to appropriate professional help. This training is vital to building healthier communities and Centers are committed to the mission of Mental Health First Aid.

MHFA in Texas Community CentersIn 2011, more than 1,500 people received MHFA training at a Texas Community Center. Ninety individual training sessions were held. Trainees included a remarkable cross section of Texans whose profession or community service call for better awareness and management of mental health needs, including:

✓ law enforcement ✓ business owners and managers✓ clergy ✓ community service employees✓ property managers ✓ librarians✓ court personnel ✓ bus drivers✓ university resident assistants ✓ professors and teachers✓ first responders ✓ ordinary concerned citizens

“I’d like everyone to get this training.”

– Comal County lawenforcement trainee

“After the drug abuse, strange phone calls and aggressive language, I almost gave up on a friend. I now know she needs help, and I know how to get it for her.”

– Austin trainee

“I always wanted to know how to help, but didn’t know how

until my MHFA training.” – Lubbock trainee

“Almost every mental illness recovery story includes a moment of hope when someone said just the right thing and knew just what to do when a life was headed in the wrong direction. Mental Health First Aid is

designed to make those ‘moments of hope’ the rule, not the exception.” – Danette Castle, Texas Council of Community Centers

For more information, contact:Melissa RowanTexas Council of Community Centers512-794-9268communications@txcouncil.com