Mental health first aid training - TNV recognizes the need to improve the knowledge and skill set of rural community members who interact with youth and adults experiencing a mental health concern

To meet mental health needs in rural communities in middle and east tennessee, TNV will provide mental health first aid (mhfa) training for a minimum of 250 community members across the middle and east regions of tennessee per year over a 5-year time period. By providing mhfa to trusted professionals and parents/caregivers living and working directly in local communities, TNV aims to reduce barriers to identifying the need for mental health services and in assisting to make referrals to mental health providers offering services to the community. Letters of commitment from 25 agencies have been provided in support of TNV's mhfa proposal submission from schools, community mental health organizations, faith-based organizations, foster care agencies, drug coalitions, and other community social service agencies. Each agency has committed to allowing TNV to provide training to their agency staff to enhance their skills in recognizing the signs and symptoms of individuals with mental health concerns who they interact with daily. Our approach to implementation of the services to be provided include the following goals: 1. Increase the number of trained individuals who are able to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders for individuals with serious mental illness and/or serious emotional disturbance who may be experiencing crisis requiring referrals or DE-escalation, 2. Increase knowledge of the availability of community-based resources for individuals with mental health challenges, and 3. Increase the number referrals to community based mental health agencies for youth and adults experiencing mental health concerns across tennessee. Populations to be served through referrals from mhfa trainers include families of children and youth with severe emotional disturbance, families of young adults and adults with serious mental illness, and families of persons with substance use disorders (SUD), and the systems that serve them. By accomplishing these goals, children, youth and young adults and adults with mental health concerns will have access to individuals in rural communities who have the skills to assist someone who has mental health concerns or is experiencing a mental health crisis.