Central florida community mental health awareness training (mhat) - the central florida community mental health awareness training (mhat) project, led by embrace families solutions, INC., will deliver…

Central florida community mental health awareness training (mhat) - the central florida community mental health awareness training (mhat) project, led by embrace families solutions, INC., will deliver mental health awareness training to 5,160 community members over a five-year period, for the benefit of youth with behavioral or mental health needs between the ages of 12 and 18. Targeted populations for training include law enforcement, family members/caregivers, school personnel, faith-based and community volunteers, peers and non-clinical direct service personnel. Embrace families solutions will partner with local training organizations and individuals to deliver two evidence-based practices (ebps) for the purposes of the proposed project: 1) crisis intervention team (CIT) training, and 2) youth mental health first aid (ymhfa) training. Each is integral to education and increasing understanding of young people struggling with mental health issues and simultaneously identifying more helpful ways in which to properly engage individuals in crisis. Planned training partners include aspire health partners, catholic charities of central florida, embrace families CBC and robin daily of zebra coalition. Additionally, the project will utilize the family-centered training models of the national alliance on mental illness, informed by individuals with lived experience, to introduce relevant concepts and engage family members seeking to support loved ones. We will monitor and measure progress against three goals: 1) increase availability of and access to quality training regarding youth mental health to a broad spectrum of community members, including those who are spanish-speaking, 2) increase knowledge of recognizing and responding to youth with mental health needs, and 3) increase efficient utilization of referral and linkage systems throughout central florida to provide youth and family-centered services.