County’s Safer Communities Program to Add Youth Mental Health Training
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, along with the Department of Community Mental Health and Westchester Jewish Community Services, launched “Youth Mental Health First Aid,” a new Safer Communities initiative, last week.
At a press conference at the County Center announcing the new program, Astorino said: “Youth Mental Health First Aid trains adults on how to detect warning signs that our kids could be at risk. If you see cuts or bruises, you don’t have to be a doctor to know what to do. The same cannot be said for mental illnesses. This program helps teach parents, teachers, coaches, clergy – just ordinary people – what to be on the lookout for when it comes to mental illness and our kids.”
“Safer Communities” is a Westchester initiative created in January 2013 to provide comprehensive response to the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. To date there have been several meetings, forums and conferences between different agencies in the county to provide a safer environment for students in local schools and for the community at large.
A press statement prepared for the announcement explained that approximately 20 percent of kids ages 13 to 18 either currently or at some point during their lives have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.
“The dilemma for adults is that we don’t want to miss warning signs and at the same time we don’t want to jump to wrong conclusions that could stigmatize youngsters. Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to help on both fronts: teach adults how to recognize warning signs and then equally important equip them to come up with the right response,” the statement said.
Youth Mental Health First Aid is a nationally recognized program that teaches participants to provide “first aid” to youth, ages 12 to 18, for a range of mental health challenges. The training will be available to adults throughout Westchester through a partnership between Westchester Jewish Community Services and the Department of Community Mental Health. The program is aimed at those who spend time with young people in schools, faith-based organizations, community groups, sports leagues, camps and recreation programs.
“We’re very excited to roll this out in Westchester,” said Alan Trager, CEO of Westchester Jewish Community Services, the agency that will provide the training. “This will empower people to identify and approach youth who may be struggling and to link them to the professional help or other supports they need before issues escalate.”
At the presentation, the training was described and demonstrated. An adult, who graduated from the program, as well as a young person, who directly benefited from the program, shared their experiences. Program trainers also gave a brief demonstration of how the two-day, four-hour training sessions will be conducted. A booklet that highlights the approach of the Youth Mental Health First Aid program, in addition to statistics and useful resources, was distributed to attendees. To access the booklet online, visit http://bit.ly/1fAeKi2.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
