MHANYS capital region project aware - the mental health association in new york state, INC. (MHANYS) will be conducting a project titled: MHANYS capital region project aware, in the NYS capital region

This project is to increase the mental health literacy of adults who interact with individuals in the focus populations in the capital region by training 255 adults each year in mental health first aid (MHFA), reaching a total of 1,275 over the five years. The target trainees are adults who may provide support and referral to our focus populations - veterans/armed forces personnel and their families and the general public experiencing behavioral health challenges. The goal of the project is to significantly increase the awareness, care, and support when individuals experience behavioral health issues in the four counties of the capital region catchment area - albany, rensselaer, saratoga, and schenectady. The objectives are to: increase the mental health literacy of adults who interact with our focus populations; increase the capacity of adults within capital region communities to respond to the behavioral health issues; to increase help seeking behaviors; increase awareness of and promote positive behavioral health; increase public awareness through outreach and engagement strategies; link individuals with behavioral health challenges to mental, emotional, and behavioral health assistance and services; and increase the number of collaborative partnerships between MHANYS and community agencies and programs. Participants will be offered MHFA for military, veterans, and their families, or regular MHFA. These trainings will not only increase the mental health literacy of the adults trained as MH first aiders, but also provide them with the tools for making referrals to local behavioral health agencies for services and programs for screening, assessment, and treatment. Newly trained MH first aiders will also become knowledgeable of a wide-range of resources in the catchment area. The resources and programs in the catchment area include a wide range of topics and support services. Two additional strategies important to the project will be to increase the mental health literacy of adults through an active, educational approach to recruitment for the MHFA trainings, and reduce discrimination and stigma related to mental illness through an ongoing marketing campaign in the capital region for the length of the project.