May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  It is one of the biggest problems we face in both our youth and adults. Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.

I recently took Youth Mental Health First Aid with the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County taught by Program Director, Jaime Angelini. There was so much valuable information to help me recognize symptoms in mental health issues in my friends, family or even people I do not know. Mental illness is a huge problem in our country and we can each do our part to help.  If you are interested in taking this short class (two 4-hour sessions or one eight-hour session) you can learn more on the Mental Health First Aid website.

 

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