Mental health first aid training program (mhfatp) - providence little company of mary community health department-south BAY is requesting funding from samhsa for implementation of our mental health…

Mental health first aid training program (mhfatp) - providence little company of mary community health department-south BAY is requesting funding from samhsa for implementation of our mental health first aid training program (mhfatp). This program will allow US to address mental health needs in the south BAY region of LOS angeles county (LAC) by hiring mental health professionals that will serve as instructors of the mhfatp, a program of the national council for behavioral health. Program staff will be responsible for facilitating the 8-hour course (adult and youth modules) in various community settings (e.g. federally qualified health centers -fqhc's, CBO's, churches, schools, veteran organizations, etc.) in both spanish and english. The course will be provided to employees of our partner organizations, including those in the mental health workforce. Program staff will conduct outreach in the community to recruit participants from the general public to take part in the mhfap. We will train our program staff on the adult curriculum in year 1 (18 years and older), and include training in the additional military and spanish modules. They will then be certified to provide the 8-hour training for groups working with/impacting adults, military (vets/active duty/family) and be able to offer the curriculum in spanish. In year 2, we will send our staff to the youth mental health first aid (mhfa) instructor training (spanish available as well), so they can start providing the 8-hour training for groups/individuals that work with youth (ages 12+). Our goal is to have 400 individuals trained in year 1, 450 in year 2, 500 in year 3, 550 in year 4, and 600 in year 5. We project referrals for mental health services in year 1 to be 150, 175 in year 2, 200 in year 3, 225 in year 4, and 250 in year 5. There are 5 congressional districts we will serve that include: 33, 37, 43, 44, and 47 in the south BAY. The total number of people to be served is 3,500. The purpose of this project is to establish the mhfatp to expand mental health awareness among individuals who interact and come into contact with persons who may be experiencing or exhibiting symptoms of mental disorder in the south BAY. We anticipate the need for mental health services to be greater based on the covid-19 pandemic and the impact IT has had on the population we serve. The mhfatp will utilize the mhfa evidence-based practice to train staff and volunteers from various partner organizations and within the community with the goal of identifying the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly those suffering from serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED). Due to covid-19, trainings will have the option to be available remotely (e.g. zoom, microsoft teams) when necessary and consistent with social-distancing guidelines as they remain in place. Furthermore, the mhfatp will establish referral mechanisms that increase the knowledge and likelihood that individuals trained in the mhfa curriculum will refer, seek, or link the population of focus to mental health resources and services.