Ramsey county youth mental health awareness project - the ramsey county youth mental health awareness project is a comprehensive suicide prevention program led by minnesota association for…

Ramsey county youth mental health awareness project - the ramsey county youth mental health awareness project is a comprehensive suicide prevention program led by minnesota association for children's mental health (macmh) and supported by partners from the ramsey county children's mental health collaborative and the suburban ramsey family collaborative. The project's focus population is ramsey county youth, ages 12-18, at risk of a mental health crisis. The project will implement youth and teen mental health first aid (ymhfa and tmhfa) and the sources of strength suicide prevention programs in ramsey county high schools and community groups. The ymhfa and tmhfa trainings will teach signs and symptoms of mental illness and suicidal ideation to identify youth in crisis and DE-escalation skills to keep youth safe and refer them to mental health resources. The programs compliment each other with the one-day mental health first aid training segueing into the multi-year sources of strength program that mobilizes teams of adult advisors and youth peer leaders to promote help seeking behaviors and a support network. In any given year, an average of 20% of youth have a serious mental health problem. However 2020 was not an average year for ramsey county youth with the traumatic impact of covid 19 and the death of george floyd. Of the approximately 44,500 12-18 year old youth in ramsey county, 55% are youth of color and 43% live in households at or below poverty. Ramsey county has the highest state rates of serious crime, homicide, homelessness, youth in foster care, and youth reporting self-injury and suicide attempts. In a youth survey given by ramsey county children's mental health collaborative in july 2020, 79% of youth reported mood swings and elevated stress levels. Youth feel isolated, depressed, anxious, angry, trapped, and worried about the future. Self-reports of extreme thoughts of hopelessness and suicidal ideation indicate an immediate need to implement strategies for prevention, intervention, and treatment of mental illness and suicidal ideation for ramsey county youth. The goals for the ramsey county youth mental health awareness project are to (1) improve the capacity for ramsey county adults and youth to identify signs and symptoms of a youth in emotional distress; (2) increase the skills of ramsey county youth and adults to use positive interventions to DE-escalate youth in crisis; (3) increase the number of adult advisors and youth peer leaders making positive connections with at risk youth; (4) increase the diversity of instructors, adult advisors and peer leaders to ensure cultural representation; (5) expand the capacity for outreach to at risk youth by training a minimum of 200 individuals yearly; (6) increase the number of referrals of youth in distress to mental health professionals; (7) increase the percentage of ramsey county youth reporting improvement in their mental health.