SOURCE: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
Well, today, I took another step…I became certified as a Mental Health First Aid responder for adults. I am VERY proud of myself, even if I had to take a vacation day from my full-time job to attend it. I have signed up for the “youth” MHFA class for November 4th, so that’s in the works too! I have quite a few trainings to complete, but I wanted to get these done ASAP!
What is a MH first aider, you might ask? Well, it is a person who can recognize when another individual might be having a mental health challenge and might need to be recognized and heard, and directed to resources and further help. Like taking a first aid course, in the event of a physical emergency, you would just get the person seen and stable awaiting EMTs and doctors. You wouldn’t start perform open heart surgery, so MH First Aiders don’t diagnose — we are an open, non-judge mental and non-threatening stewards to getting persons to mental health assistance.
The class was great and normally costs about $175 to $200, so I found a provider that had it paid for via a state grant and I attended at no charge AND they provided the materials and lunch at no charge! I feel like everything I learned could be used in my current social services job, but I have also applied for a few other promising jobs in the advocacy realm! Fingers crossed! I also feel as though it assists with my mental health advocacy here on this blog, so it was a wonderful experience all the way around! Single Mama friendly, even!
If you are interested in learning more, please visit the URL above and sign-up for a class. There are classes for Adult MHFA responders and ones for Youth. They market those “youth” classes for teachers and counselors, or anyone who interacts with teens. I cannot wait to attend that one also! It’s such beneficial and necessary things! I wish my employer required it of all of our employees, as part of the agency’s mission statement is to provide resources to the public. I’ll just keep on being a steward for the public-at-large, continuing to help my fellow man.
I’m looking into Narcan training next, although my agency will NOT allow Narcan on the premises or an AED, which troubles me greatly. I recently attended a Whitney Strong “Save a Life” training, that gave me a gun lock and a tourniquet kit (and AWESOME training and support), and I now carry that tourniquet kit in my car, just in case. With the state of the world these days, especially in terms of violence and unchecked illness, a person cannot be too careful. I make sure I do a free first aid and CPR course every year, even though my employer will no longer provide that either. I’ve linked it, for your usage. I’m a single, broke Mama…gotta do what I can…LOVE resources!
If you need more information, please message or email me. I’m happy to share resources. They cannot help people if they’re kept a secret!
Love and light! <3