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Project Overview and Evidence-Based Practices: Zepf Center, in collaboration with partners in Lucas, and Wood counties (Northwest Ohio), proposes REACT: Responsive Education, Awareness and Community Treatment. Zepf will provide multiple training opportunities in the evidence-based practice, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for Adults and MHFA for Youth, and will coordinate Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for first responders and law enforcement. REACT will create a Speakers Bureau of trainers that will be deployed across Northwest Ohio, including the use of Certified Peer Recovery Supporters as part of the training team. Zepf proposes to provide these trainings across Northwest Ohio to maximize the reach of the education offered through REACT. In addition to training, Zepf Center will work to establish referral mechanisms that increase the ability of the individuals trained through REACT to refer and link people in need of mental health services to those resources. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this program is to: (1) Train individuals working in schools, emergency response, law enforcement, veterans, armed services personnel and their families, local employers, and students in targeted vocational and post-secondary education settings to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders. (2) Establish linkages with school-based and/or community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services; (3) Train emergency services personnel, veterans, law enforcement, fire department personnel, and others to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques; and (4) Educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a mental disorder. Number of People Served: We anticipate many of the individuals being between 18 to 65 years of age. This population was selected because of their professional reach in the community and their connection to persons who may be experiencing mental illness or a mental health crisis. We anticipate training up to 500 individuals per year or 1,500 over the three years of the grant. The catchment area for this project is Toledo, Ohio (Lucas County) and Bowling Green, Ohio (Wood County). Toledo is the fourth largest city in Ohio with 287, 208 residents; Bowling Green has 31,591 residents. Lucas County’s population is 433,689 and Wood County is 130,492 (US Census Data Quick Facts, 2015). Both cities are home to mid-size universities with student bodies of between 15,000 and 19,000 (Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo, respectively). Toledo is considered an urban area, while Bowling Green is rural. Lead Organization: The Zepf Center; Project Director: Craig Gebers, cgebers@zepfcenter.org

HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, operates a 315-hospital-bed health care system in Ulster and Delaware County, NY. HealthAlliance will embark on a project, Mental Health Belongs to All of Us, with the overall goal to expand our community's capacity to increase awareness of mental health issues and connect youth with behavioral health issues to needed services. The program's objectives include increasing the mental health literacy of adults, increasing the capacity of adults to respond to behavioral health issues impacting youth, and conducting outreach and engagement strategies to increase awareness of and promote positive behavioral health. HealthAlliance will partner with Family of Woodstock to employ the evidence-based practice of Youth Mental Health First Aid to train members of the community to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. Individuals to be trained include, but are not limited to first responders, college personnel and students, all levels of school personnel, high school students, staff of public institutions, community members, veterans, visiting nurses and home health aides, faith-based communities, and nurses and primary care workers. The population of focus for which the training is centered around is youth; however specific adult populations will also be targeted. Often the mental health issues of youth are being driven by the mental health issues of their parents and an effective intervention must address both. The geographic catchment area is Ulster and Delaware County, NY. This region is economically diverse. In Kingston, Ulster County's only city, 28.8% of youth are living in poverty. Adjacent areas in Delaware County, have unemployment rates that exceed New York State (NYS) averages, and according to the 2017 NYS Community Action Report, 26.4% of youth under 18 are living in poverty in Delaware County. Both counties are extremely rural with Delaware being the sixth most in NYS with a median family income of $44,617, more than $14,000 less than NYS's at $58,687. In Delaware County, 19% of the population is 18 or younger, with suicide the third leading cause of death for that population nationally. The number of adolescents seen at the Delaware County Mental Health Clinic saw greater number of children between the ages of 5-12 in 2015 than 2014. The NYS Office of Mental Health County reports shows Mental Health In-Patient Use for Youth on calendar year 2015 as Ulster County at 3.8 admissions per 10,000 population and Delaware County at 4.1 admissions, these statistics exceed the NYS average of 3.3 per 10,000 population. HealthAlliance is the largest employer in Ulster and Delaware County and we will begin internal training in February 2019 with the goal of training at least one-quarter of our 1880 employees (470). Externally, beginning in March we will train 25 people every two weeks, 650 annually (350 in the first year) for a total of 1700. With the HealthAlliance employees, as well as individuals from the community, we will train 2120 people.

Preferred Family Healthcare’s MHAT/ALGEE (Assess for risk of suicide or harm-Listen non- judgmentally; Give reassurance and information; Encourage appropriate professional help; Encourage self-help and other support strategies, is to train school personnel, healthcare professionals, emergency first responders, law enforcement, active military service persons, veterans, cultural advocates, family groupings, and community stakeholders to recognize the signs and symptoms of substance use and episodic or diagnosed mental disorders, such as serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED), and establish linkages with school and community-based mental and behavioral health agencies so that children, youth and transitioning young people with signs or symptoms of substance use or mental illness can be referred to appropriate services; identify persons experiencing psychosis or mental disorders and employ crisis de-escalation techniques; and raise awareness about resources available to address mental and behavioral disorders. Population of Focus are children (ranging from 4 to 12 years); Adolescents (12 to 18 years old); Transition Age Youth (18 to 25 years old) who present and experience symptoms and impacts of substance use, SMI and SED. The method/ model is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Trainees will include 2,100 stakeholders from 11 area school districts, 8 area health departments, 2 universities/ colleges, 3 community coalitions, 1 community/family service provider, 1 youth service provider, and 1 faith-based entity. Goals and Objectives: Goal 1: Increase the number of people that can offer help and recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health challenge, mental disorder, or a mental health crisis in youth. Obj. 1.1 Train and certify 2,100 people in Mental Health First Aid over 3 years: 1: 540 (18 trainings), 2: 780 (26 trainings), 3: 780 (26 trainings) Obj. 1.2 5% decrease in students who report they seriously considered suicide by 2020 in geographic area Obj. 1.3 5% decrease in students who report they planned suicide by 2020 in geographic area Obj. 1.4 5% decrease in students who report they attempted suicide by 2020 in geographic area Obj. 1.5 5% decrease in students who report they are very sad by 2020 in geographic area Obj. 1.6 5% decrease in students who report they feel hopeless about the future by 2020 in geographic area Goal 2: Increase the knowledge of individuals, who interact with youth, on the available resources for mental health treatment. Obj. 2.1 90% of adults surveyed will report an increase in knowledge of available resources for mental health treatment in their area, from pretest to post test. Goal 3: Increase the number of youth referrals for mental health issues. Obj. 3.1 Increase in youth who are referred to appropriate professional help.50 Obj. 3.2 Increase in youth who are referred to other support strategies (these include youth-serving organizations and other non-clinical groups) 50 Obj. 3.3 Increase in youth who are referred to self-help strategies (these include coping mechanisms and alternative activities) 50

Porter County Substance Abuse Council will partner with Porter-Starke Services (MHA) and 22 other community service agencies to train individuals in Mental Health First Aid. The Mental Health Awareness Training project will train a minimum of 300 each year of the three-year project period for a minimum total of 900 or 51% of those committed to participate in MHAT sponsored trainings. Year 1 will train approximately 62 EMS & fire, 60 MHA’s, 115 law enforcement, 60 school faculty and staff, and 3 veterans services representatives. MHFA is proven effective at: • Growing trainee knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions. • Identification of multiple types of professional and self-help resources for individuals with a mental illness or addiction. • Increasing trainee confidence in and likelihood to help an individual in distress. • Showing increased mental wellness among trainees themselves. Studies also show that MHFA reduces the social distance created by negative attitudes and perceptions of individuals with mental illnesses. The goal of the PCSAC MHAT Project is to increase the number of Porter County residents receiving treatment for serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SEM) from the baseline of 37.2% to 55.8% (50% net increase) over the three-year project period. To accomplish this goal the project will work toward the following primary objectives: • Objective 1: Increase the number of certified Mental Health First Aid trainers from the current number (2) by 100% to 4 by September 29, 2019. • Objective 2: Increase the number of residents trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders from the current number to be established by 50% by September 29, 2019. • Objective 3: Increase the number of referrals to mental health services by 100% from the baseline to be established within the first 4 months of the project period by September 29, 2021. • Objective 4: Increase the number of linkages to mental health resources by 100% from the baseline to be established within the first 4 months of the project period by September 29, 2021.

Project Name: HUSSW Mental Health Awareness Training Program Population to Be Served: HU Residence Life (HU-RL) and HU Department of Public Safety (HU-DPS) personnel who have regular contact with over 10,000 students. Goals: Goal 1: To implement the evidenced based Mental Health First Aid awareness program. Objective 1.1: To increase the number of certified Mental Health First Aid trainers (Baseline 0) to increase 6. Objective 1.2: To train PhD students, project assistant, evaluator and the Project Director Goal 2: To implement the Mental Health First Aide training program for HU-DPS and HU-RL personnel. Objective 2.1: To train 50% (Baseline 120) HU-DPS personnel and to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness (including opioid and substance use disorders) and in de-escalating techniques. (Years 1, 2, 3) Objective 2.2: To train 50 % (Baseline 140) HU-RL personnel to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness (including opioid and substance use disorders) and in de-escalating techniques. (Years 1, 2, 3) and in de-escalating techniques. Objective 2.3: To conduct at least two initial Mental Health First Aid sessions per month with group size of no more than 20 participants beginning January 2019 or 4 months after grant funds are received. Objective 2.4: Design and pilot a culturally competent refresher short-course for years 2 and 3 Objective 2.5: To increase the capacity of HU-DPS and HU-RL to recognize the difference between noncompliance and a student in crisis by utilizing de-escalation techniques. Objective 2.6: To teach participants the five-step action plan, ALGEE, Goal 3: To develop a referral toolkit for use of HU-DPS and HU-RL Objective 3.1: To link students to mental health resources and services Objective 3.2: To refer students to appropriate resources based on level of crisis Goal 4: To develop and implement a mental health awareness training plan. Objective 4.1: To identify two Mental Health First Aid supplemental modules Objective 4.2: To develop and implement a referral tool to track the number of referrals made Summary: The Howard University School of Social Work Mental Health Awareness Program proposes to implement the evidenced based Mental Health First Aid Training Program for HU-PSD and HU-RL to ensure timely referrals for behavioral health interventions aimed at decreasing the severity of mental health episodes through early intervention and increasing the number of students who receive mental health services.

The Right Place Inc., in Anniston Alabama since 2012, will implement the SAMHSA funded Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Project to train individuals, law enforcement, fire services, veterans, schools, and community providers using the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid course to increase awareness, establish referral and linkages to mental health providers, and educate about available mental health resources for persons with a mental disorder. Using the community-friendly Mental Health First Aid training course will allow those trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness (SMI) and serious emotional disturbance (SED), plus the ability to use crisis de-escalation techniques while going about their daily workplace and home life. The increased awareness provided by the MHAT Project will train community gate-keepers, social service agencies and homelessness providers, law enforcement, fire services, schools, emergency first responders, and veterans and their families to have greater awareness about mental illness and will prepare them to respond appropriately and safely in crisis situations. A primary goal of the MHAT Project will be to increase referrals to experienced and competent mental health services and primary care providers in our community. These professionals will be partners with the Project and can provide assessment, further referral for treatment or supportive services as needed. The Right Place MHAT staff will collaborate with all persons trained in Mental Health First Aid to document the number of referrals made by trained individuals. The MHAT Project will provide six, 8-hour Mental Health First Aid trainings annually, training 150 persons per year, and over 450 individuals through the 3-year program. The Right Place serves 8 rural counties of N.E. Alabama and is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains - training and awareness outreach will focus on the five most populous counties of Calhoun (pop. 117,253), Cleburne (pop 14,885), Etowah (pop104,311), Cherokee (pop 26,056), and DeKalb (pop. 70,977) Census 2012. Committed partners for the recruitment, outreach, and marketing of the project are in place and will contribute to the projects’ success. Project staff will also provide guest speakers, health fairs, awareness events, distribution of mental health educational brochures, and community opportunities to reach an additional 600 persons annually through mental health awareness outreach activities. As an objective of the program, MHAT will create a community resource directory to be shared annually with all partners and interested persons, especially those serving veterans and rural residents. Staff will update and revise the resource directory as new partners are trained and added to the list of mental health related providers and services in our targeted counties. The staff of The Right Place Inc. have a combined 74 years of expertise providing community level interventions, prevention and awareness programming, data collection and grants management. The program evaluation, data collection, reporting, and performance measurement will be conducted according to SAMHSA guidelines and requirements.

Metropolitan Community Health Services (MCHS), a 501(c)(3) non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), is applying for the Mental Health Awareness Training Grant to increase mental health awareness and train populations in rural eastern North Carolina on how to appropriately and safely respond to individuals with mental disorders, particularly individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED). OVERVIEW OF MCHS: MCHS provides mental health services as well as primary and preventive medical, dental, pharmacy, behavioral health, and substance abuse services to vulnerable and indigent populations in eastern North Carolina on a sliding fee scale. MCHS serves the rural counties of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrell, and Washington in North Carolina. PROJECT NAME: Mental Health Awareness Training Project in Rural Eastern North Carolina POPULATIONS TO BE SERVED: MCHS will serve populations throughout its five-county service area, with a focus on vulnerable, low-income, and uninsured populations; these counties share significant health care, economic, geographic, and educational challenges. According to the Uniform Data System Mapper Report of MCHS’s service area, 43% of the population are low-income residents with incomes under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, 22% live in poverty, and 11% are uninsured. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, all of the counties in MCHS’s service area have numerous core health indicators that are worse than those of the state of North Carolina. In these counties, the average number of poor mental health days is worse than the state’s average, the percentage of the population reporting frequent mental distress of 14 or more days each month ranged from 12% to 13%, and there are high suicide rates. The need for awareness of and referral to mental health services is exacerbated as all five counties are designated by HRSA as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for mental health. STRATEGIES & INTERVENTIONS: MCHS plans to hire a 1.0 FTE Project Manager/Trainer and a 0.5 FTE Trainer to: 1) provide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to individuals (e.g., school personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement, veterans, armed services members and their families) to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly SMI and/or SED; 2) establish linkages with school- and community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services; 3) provide Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to emergency services personnel, veterans, law enforcement, fire department personnel, and others to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques; and 4) educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a mental disorder. PROJECT GOALS FOR MCHS’S SERVICE AREA: To increase mental health awareness; to increase referrals of individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services; and to increase the appropriate utilization of crisis de-escalation techniques for persons with mental disorders. OBJECTIVES: To provide MHFA training to 333 individuals annually and 1,000 individuals throughout the lifetime of the project; to establish linkages with 12 school- and community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services; to increase the number of referrals of individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services to 125 individuals annually and 375 individuals throughout the lifetime of the project; and to provide CIT training to 100 individuals annually and 300 individuals throughout the lifetime of the project to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques.

The Compeer Mental Health First Aid training-MHFA project will operate in Buffalo, NY and Erie County where Compeer matches volunteers in one-to-one friendships and mentoring relationships with veterans, college/K-12 students, and adults striving for good mental health. The proposed initiative builds on Compeer’s existing 2,500 MHFA First Aiders (FAs) and will bring its number of trained MHFA instructors to 8, 7 more than any other Buffalo agency. MHFA Participants will include but are not limited to mental health providers; veterans and veteran service providers, military personnel, and their families; mental health counselors and advisors; first responders (police, fire, & EMT); service organizations’ staff; educators (college and K-12 faculty/teachers, counselors, and advisors); athletics personnel; college/school leaders; students (college & K-12); K-12 school resource & security officers, truancy officers, after school staff, parents/caregivers, and transportation providers; primary care, obstetricians, and general practitioners; and Compeer mentors/staff. Target Population Partners: Veterans: Dept. of Veteran Affairs, WNY Heroes, Veteran’s One-Stop, and the WNY Consortium of Higher Education Veteran’s and Military Personnel Community of Practice (COP). First Responders: Buffalo Police & Fire Departments, WNY Fire Chiefs Association, WNY Consortium of Higher Education Law Enforcement Administrators Group (on & off campus law enforcement groups), and Amherst Security Professionals (300+ law enforcement officers). College Students: the WNY Consortium of Higher Education which represents all 21 WNY colleges and universities, over 45,000 employees, and 100,000 students and targeted institutions like SUNY Erie. Youth: WNY K-12 districts & leadership, BOCES, WNY High School Counselors Association, and Anti-Stigma Coalition.

L.U.K. Crisis Center, Inc. (LUK) proposes to heighten awareness of mental health issues throughout Worcester County, Massachusetts, focusing on under-resourced communities outside of the three major urban areas. The population of focus for LUK’s Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) project includes youth and adults who reside in the 57 smaller municipalities in Worcester County and have a serious mental illness and/or a serious emotional disturbance. We will use the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) curricula, along with appropriate supplemental modules (e.g., public safety, military) to achieve the goals of the project which are to: (1) Increase the number of law enforcement, school personnel, veterans, service members, families and others in under-resourced areas of Worcester County who can recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders in youth and adults, (2) Increase training participants’ knowledge of how to appropriately and safely respond to a mental health crisis, and (3) Increase awareness of community resources among the general public via referrals from First Aiders. We plan to partner with the Central Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association to provide training to law enforcement personnel throughout the targeted communities. We also plan to train school personnel, staff at youth serving organizations, veterans, service members and their families, and the general public. Training will teach participants to recognize signs and symptoms of mental disorders, establish linkages with mental health agencies to refer individuals with mental illness for services, provide training in crisis de-escalation techniques, and educate individuals about available community resources. In Year 1, we plan to certify six new Y/MHFA trainers (in addition to two existing trainers), with four additional Y/MHFA trainers certified in Years 2 and 3, for a total of 15 new trainers. We will offer 20 trainings in Year 1 and 30 in each of Years 2 and 3 for a total of 80 Y/MFA trainings. With an average 15 First Aiders successfully completing each training, we anticipate reaching 1,200 new First Aiders throughout the project (300 in Year 1 and 450 each in Years 2 and 3). The project objectives are: By the end of each training, 85% of First Aiders will report increased knowledge of (1) signs and symptoms of mental illness, (2) how to appropriately and safely respond and access resources, and (3) community resources and how to access these resources. All three of these objectives will be measured by Y/MHFA pre-/post-test. Additionally, by the end of the project, 50% of First Aiders will report making a referral to a community resource.

The Warriors Supporting Wellness (WSW) project provides Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings to individuals who interact with first responders, active military, veterans, and their families in a 10-county region located in the Mid-to-Southwestern portion of Ohio. Trainings will focus on the Youth, Public Safety, EMS/Fire, and Military/Veterans modules of the curriculum, training 300 people per year and 900 throughout the lifetime of the project. With Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) located within the catchment area, this geographic region experiences higher than average rates of behavioral health issues, including higher rates of mental illness, major depressive episodes, unintentional drug overdoses, and suicides when compared to the state of Ohio’s rates. These data are attributed to the repeated exposure of stress experienced by community warriors, defined as first responders – law enforcement, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), dispatchers, and fire department personnel – as well as active military men and women, veterans, and their families. This recurring stress often leads to vicarious trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, other forms of anxiety and depression, co-occurring substance abuse, compassion fatigue, and burnout. WSW will implement a minimum of 12 MHFA trainings per year. The training model integrates multiple trainings to achieve a comprehensive plan for mental health awareness, including the Public Safety, EMS/Fire, and Veterans/Military modules of MHFA, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trainings, and Trauma Informed Policing. The Youth MHFA curriculum will target schools immediately contiguous to WPAFB. Individuals chosen to become MHFA instructors will be individuals who can speak to the unique experiences of this population, the traumas they have witnessed or experienced, and the challenges experienced by their families. Trainees will learn to identify the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, and how to de-escalate incidences, access community resources, and address mental health crises. The project’s goals are to have a sufficient amount of certified Mental Health First Aiders in the catchment area who: 1) experience an increase in mental health literacy; 2) report an increased capacity to respond to community warriors’ mental health issues; 3) experience an increased awareness of mental health issues and mental wellness; 4) provide referrals and links to community based mental health services to community warriors; and 5) build collaborative partnerships between relevant community agencies and programs that are engaged with warriors. Measurable objectives include: 90% improvement in the knowledge of sign, symptoms, and risk factors of mental illnesses and substance use disorders; 90% increase in help-seeking behaviors; 75% improvements in their own mental wellness; 90% improvement in the knowledge of professional and self-help mental health resources; 80% improvement in the level of confidence in providing help to individuals experiencing mental health problems; and 80% reduction in perceived stigma towards mental health disorders.

Crimson Research, housed within the College of Health and Social Services at New Mexico State University, proposes a program to connect professional staff and family members/caregivers to mental health awareness training in Otero County, New Mexico. Specifically, professionals working with veterans, active military, youth, and the community at large will participate in at least one of three evidence-based mental health awareness programs. Training participants will hail from Holloman Air Force Base, the Otero County Detention Center, the Alamogordo Police Department, and the Alamogordo Public Schools system. The three mental health trainings provided will be Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Crisis Prevention Institute Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (CPI), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family program (NAMI-FTF). The key element of the proposed program is that select employees from each agency will be sent out to become instructors in each training so that they can be in-house instructors at their agencies when they return. This ensures sustainability of the program, ease of scheduling, and self-reliance rather than depending on instructors from other counties as is often the case currently. Veterans and youth comprise over a third of Otero County’s population and rates of mental illness are well above both the national average and the New Mexico average, particularly for suicide and attempted suicide. There is a paucity of mental health services in this rural, underserved area near the US-Mexico border, and very few mental health instructors (only one NAMI instructor, three MHFA instructors, and no CPI instructors permitted to train outside the hospital). The goals and objectives of the proposed program center around the installation of in-house mental health instructors at agencies that encounter high rates of mental health consumers, the training of professional staff at these agencies, and the training of family members/caregivers of individuals with mental illness so that these individuals can be best supported, connected to treatment, and prevented from entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily. The program will create 13 new mental health instructors and train an additional 195 professionals and family members for a total of 208 trained Otero County residents. These participants will be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, de-escalate crisis situations, connect individuals to services, and be aware of relevant local resources.

Serving Children and Adults in Need (SCAN), Inc., is proposing to implement the Webb County Mental Health Awareness Training Project in Webb County, Texas, which has Laredo as its seat of government and is situated along the Texas-Mexico border. The population of focus consists of veterans, armed services members and their families, emergency first responders, educators and other school personnel, law enforcement, health professionals working with individuals who may be experiencing serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, and other individuals. The project will train individuals to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders; establish linkages with school- and/or community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services; train emergency services personnel, veterans, law enforcement, fire department personnel, and others to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques; and educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a mental disorder. The project’s goals are to: 1) Increase the capacity of emergency responders, health professionals, school personnel law enforcement, veterans, armed services members and their families, and others to recognize youth and adults experiencing serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbance in Webb County; 2) Develop community capacity to provide mental health awareness training and to coordinate resources for adults and youth identified with serious mental illness and serious emotional in order that they obtain appropriate care; 3) Foster the development of trauma-informed systems of care in order to ensure training participants understand the impact of trauma on the mental health of youth and adults experiencing serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbance; 4) Improve training participant skills by demonstrating increased knowledge post-trainings. 5) Deliver Mental Health First Aid training with high degree of fidelity while paying attention to the population’s cultural and linguistic needs; and 6) Collect quality data effectively and consistently to ensure best training outcomes, timely reporting and program improvement. SCAN has chosen Mental Health First Aid as the Evidence Based Practice. This EBP will allow SCAN to deliver a concise training that provides individuals with skills to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis. SCAN will train 750 unduplicated individuals annually (2,250 individuals over the project’s lifetime). SCAN will convene an Advisory Group composed of local stakeholders to develop a strategic plan to address the specific training needs of the community, develop a training plan, focus on how to best link individuals with SMI and SED to appropriate services, and to oversee the project’s approach to consultation services. In order to provide ongoing support, skill development and consultation, SCAN will schedule quarterly consultation calls and/or webinars for training attendees to help them appropriately link those individuals they identify with SMI or SED. SCAN will also offer training on SAMHSA’s Trauma Informed Approach to all participants.

The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) will implement the Youth Mental Health First Aid Project, training teaching and administrative staff of at-risk adolescent students within its Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) programs, in HEC Academy, and in member school districts, in the evidence-based Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) program model. In addition, CES will work with organizations that support military families to offer YMHFA to parents and guardians of youth in military families. These families often experience the stress of separation for military deployments and other duties. Throughout the lifetime of the project we will train over 625 educational administrators, teachers, and support staff who work with at risk youth in the statewide DYS programs, at CES’ HEC Academy, in CES’ member school districts in Western MA; and parents/guardians of youth from military families in Western MA. -In Year 1, we will train 10 DYS educational administrators, 25 HEC Academy staff, and 25 CES member school district administrators and staff. -In Year 2, we will train 70 DYS educational administrators and teachers, 200 school administrators, parents and staff, including 25 parents of youth in military families. -In Year 3, we will train 40 DYS educational administrators and teachers, 5 HEC Academy staff, 250 CES member school district administrators, parents and staff, including 25 parents/guardians of youth in military families. The YMHFA training will contribute to our overall project goal of improving staff and family members’ knowledge and skills to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness in youth, and to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate professional and self-help services. Mental Health First Aid is an internationally recognized program that is listed in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). The 8-hour YMHFA course is designed for adults who regularly interact with adolescents. As a public education program, Youth Mental Health First Aid has the potential to reduce stigma, improve mental health literacy, and empower individuals. The course teaches participants the risk factors and warning signs of a variety of mental health challenges common among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, and substance use disorder. Participants do not learn to diagnose, nor how to provide any therapy. Rather, participants learn to support youth developing signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in an emotional crisis by applying a core five-step action plan. The YMHFA training also addresses the role of trauma as a risk factor for mental illness and many of our DYS and HEC Academy students have experienced significant trauma in their young lives. CES will partner with Clinical Support Options, ServiceNet, DYS Clinical Staff, Hampshire Veterans Agency, HEC Academy staff, and CES school districts to provide this training.

Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-based Mental Health Awareness Training, will be augmented and expanded in Stanislaus County, CA to first responders; educators; older adults and caregivers of older adults; veterans, armed services members, and their families; parents and families of youth exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental health issues; and community-based human services staff. Trainings will be offered in either English or Spanish depending upon the participant’s primary language. Total to be trained is 480 annually for a total 1440 unduplicated individuals during the grant period. Populations of focus for which the training is intended to help are adults, youth, older adults, and veterans. This includes individuals who are homeless that first responders have repeat contact with, Spanish speaking, struggling in school, are isolated both physically and geographically, and cultural groups for which there is stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness. Goal 1: Educate individuals in Stanislaus County, with a focus on Spanish speaking Latino/a community members, regarding mental illness and community resources available to decrease the stigma associated with receiving services for mental disorders. Objective 1.1: By February 1, 2019, develop and implement a Mental Health Awareness Training plan utilizing the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid and implement community outreach and engagement strategies to ensure a broad representation of community members and professionals receive MHFA training. Objective 1.2: By February 1, 2019, all MHFA classroom materials, mental health resources brochures, electronic materials, and flyers will be made available in both English and Spanish. Objective 1.3: By February 1, 2019, bi-lingual and bi-cultural Spanish-speaking trainers will be available to conduct both MHFA Adult Spanish and MHFA Youth Spanish as requested by program partners. Goal 2: Increase the number of evidence-based Mental Health First Aid trainings offered in Stanislaus County which will result in an increased number of individuals trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders. Objective 2.1: Increase the number of MHFA-certified trainers in Stanislaus County by training 3 new trainers to deliver Adult MHFA and Youth MHFA by September 30, 2019. Objective 2.2: Offer MHFA training an average of 2 times/month for 36 months of the grant period. Objective 2.3: By September 30, 2021, grant funded trainers will have trained an average of 480 individuals annually for a total of 1440 unduplicated individuals trained. Goal 3: Enhance the linkages with both school and community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs and symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services. Goal 4: Increase the number of first responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS, 911 dispatchers), downtown small business owners, elementary and secondary educators, veterans, older adults, and caregivers/parents trained in Mental Health First Aid to improve their ability to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis de-escalation techniques.

The Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition’s “Mental Health First Aid for Palm Beach County” project is a partnership between the PBCSAC and local behavioral health/ advocacy groups which is designed to increase mental health literacy among adults, policy-makers and administrators of programs serving adults and youth. Since 2002, PBCSAC has served as a community coalition working to reduce substance use and abuse through primary prevention efforts and environmental strategies. Our mission is: “Uniting Palm Beach County by strengthening children, families and neighborhoods in their resolve to reduce and prevent alcohol and drug abuse, creating a drug free community”. We leverage partnerships, provide trainings and utilize community input to develop and implement evidence based action plans. This project will provide training for community members in both Adult Mental Health First Aid (AMHFA) and Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA), with a population of focus in: (1) Veterans, Armed Service Members and their Families; (2) Fire Department Personal and Emergency First Responders; (3) Law Enforcement; (4) Parent and Youth Serving Organizations (5) Teachers and School Personal (6) Parents, with a Focus on Parents of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and/or Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) and (7) Haitian and Hispanic Community Organizations and Members. Over the three-year grant period, 1,500 individuals (500 in Year 1; 500 in Year 2; 500 in Year 3) will become “First Aiders” by completing the AMHFA or YMHFA course facilitated by a cadre of 25 certified instructors that include veterans, law enforcement, fire rescue, school district, and non-profit workers. New “First Aiders” will include school district teachers, administrators, counselors, police officers and other staff; parents and caregivers and individuals who work at various non-profits which serve the identified populations. As a result of effectively saturating Palm Beach County with “First Aiders,” we expect to reach our goals of 1) train a broad array of community members in Palm Beach County, including underserved populations, in AMHFA and/or YMHFA, 2) increase the number of individuals referred to mental health or related services by 5%, from 71.8% to 76.8% and 3) enhance Palm Beach County’s network of Mental Health professionals and service organizations with increased communication and community knowledge of available services.

Over the next 3 years, we will undertake a multi-pronged, comprehensive plan to increase mental health awareness in Washington County using evidence-based curriculum and strategies, including: 1) Continue Youth Mental Health First Aid training of school communities across Washington County – expanding trainings to include parents and ancillary staff/officials (such as coaches, afterschool program staff, school committee members, etc.) and Mental Health First Aid training for health care providers, including hospital staff 2) Partner with local municipalities to conduct Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) or Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) with town staff (i.e. park and recreation, town clerks, housing officials, etc.) with the goal of meeting the national standard of 1:10 Americans trained (beginning with the towns of Narragansett and Westerly) 3) Train all area first responders (who are not currently trained) in Mental Health First Aid: Specifically, training all local law enforcement staff as required by state law in Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety and career and volunteer first responders and local EMS and fire depts. as recommended in Mental Health First Aid for Fire/EMS 4) Develop a regional CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Program, based on the Memphis model, for advanced training and community collaboration to address the needs of those living with severe and persistent mental illness (SMI population) 5) Conduct outreach to veterans organizations and veteran owned businesses to conduct trainings in Mental Health First Aid for Veterans Using a population health approach, our targets for training include those sectors with the greatest opportunities to interact with people struggling with mental health challenges: schools, law enforcement, fire/EMS, municipal staff, and hospitals, as well as those at highest risk due to trauma: veterans and first responders. Our project builds on our successes to date (816 individuals in Washington County have been trained in YMHFA and 150 trained in MHFA) and helps take our efforts to the next level in not only providing mental health awareness training to individuals, but instituting policy and systems changes to create a safer and more compassionate community.

The University of Montana (UM) Mental Health Awareness Training Project, a collaboration between the School of Social Work and the National Native Children's Trauma Center, will offer widespread training to UM and the greater Missoula community on how to identify and respond to individuals who may be experiencing mental health or substance use issues. The project plans to train students and faculty at UM along with professionals and community members in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid. Specifically, the project will target Veteran students and their families, students from programs who graduate to work with at risk populations including Public Health, Social Work and Psychology and local community agencies who serve individuals at risk of mental health and/or substance use issues. The project will work to broaden recruitment efforts to capture any interested local Missoula human service agency and all students at UM who can serve to identify mental health and substance use issues in their peers. An important component of the project will also be to collaborate with partnering mental health agencies on and off campus to establish referral linkages that support those identified as needing resources. The project anticipates serving 270 individuals in year one, 330 in years two and three with a goal to train approximately 930 individuals by the end of the three-year project.

The Community Preparedness in Mental Health First Aid program will educate its service area in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED), and suicidal ideation. This project represents a collaborative effort internally with the UHCL Counseling Services, College of Education, College of Human Services and Humanities, Police Department, and Veteran Services and externally with Dickinson Independent School District (ISD), Hitchcock ISD, Santa Fe ISD, the Odyssey Academy-Galveston, the City of Santa Fe, Family Service Center, and Innovative Alternatives. The target population for this project includes at least 600 UHCL faculty, staff, and students; K-12 school personnel and educators-in-training; emergency first responders; law enforcement; and veterans, armed services members, and their families. The goals and objectives for this project are designed around the concept of PREPARE: Promoting a Reduction in mental health stigma, Education, Prevention, Awareness, Referrals, and the Empowerment of individuals living with mental illness. We will provide Mental Health First Aid training at least 200 individuals per year on the UHCL Campus and in the Greater Clear Lake and Galveston County communities to increase their ability to identify students who might be at risk for suicide or mental health problems and refer them to appropriate on and off campus resources for assessment and treatment.

To meet SAMSHA’s goal of training individuals on how to appropriately and safely respond to individuals with mental disorders, particularly individuals with SMI and/or SED, the Sacramento City Unified School District will offer a variety of training opportunities to 10 South Sacramento schools that serve high-need populations. Staff, students, family members, School Resource Officers, and Expanded Learning staff will be targeted. Over the 3-year grant program, up to 600 unduplicated individuals will be trained. Program goals include: Goal 1 - Increase the number of SCUSD staff, students, family members, community partner providers, School Resource Officers, and veterans/families who recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, particularly serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED) Goal 2 – Identify students who are at risk for Serious Mental Illness and/or Serious Emotional Disturbance Goal 3 - Increase linkages with community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services Goal 4 – Increase awareness in south Sacramento about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a mental disorder The SCUSD MHAT grant will build on the foundation established by a previous Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA)grant by continuing to provide YMHFA trainings as well as adding two additional evidence-based mental health awareness trainings (QPR and Kognito’s At Risk) that will be offered at 10 targeted South Sacramento schools and in the community. These curriculums were selected based on a tiered approach. Kognito At-Risk is a universal training for basic mental health awareness, while QPR is targeted training focused on suicide awareness and how to respond, YMHFA is a more intensive, in-depth training on understanding signs of symptoms of mental health illness and how to respond to mental health crisis. All trainings are culturally and developmentally appropriate for adults. All school staff that have direct contact with youth in the targeted schools, including counselors, teachers, office staff, campus monitors, School Resource Officers, and nutrition services staff will be offered training opportunities. Youth Mental Health First Aide trainings will continue to be held throughout the entire school district during the grant period and will be open to all adults in the community. YMHFA trainings emphasize safely de-escalating a crisis situation involving an individual with a mental illness. Staff from the Sacramento Veteran’s Services will have two staff trained to be QPR instructors and provide trainings at their program sites. The district will pilot and adopt an evidence-based mental health screening tool during the grant period. SSHS staff will first identify key areas to screen, convene stakeholders to review possible screening tools, select a tool to pilot at four of the South Sacramento targeted schools, and evaluate the tool’s effectiveness. Staff/Parent Wellness Nights will be held at four school sites each year, featuring speakers discussing topics such as Social Media and Mental Health and Parenting in a Digital World. Participants will gain a better understanding of signs of psychological distress, some of the potential causes, and available resources.

The Northeast Arkansas Mental Health Awareness Training Project is designed to create a more responsive environment (e.g., through awareness and referrals) for individuals who exhibit mental health issues, particularly those who experience serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and combat-related and other trauma, as well as to create linkages with schools and community-based resources. The geographic area for the project is a 13-county catchment area that mostly includes the Mississippi Delta Region, and includes the Arkansas counties of Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Lawrence, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Randolph, and St. Francis. The project will (a) increase community awareness of mental illness, (b) increase recognition of signs and symptoms of mental health issues, and (c) establish community linkages through which individuals are referred to appropriate treatment and services. Staff from Mid-South Health Systems will be trained as Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructors, and, in turn, will train (1) public safety officers (e.g., police officers, firefighters, EMTs), (2) school personnel (e.g., teachers, staff, resource officers), and (3) military veteran/armed services community members (e.g., Veteran Service Officers, community agencies dedicated to assisting veterans, armed services members and their families). Across the 3 years of grant funding, this train-the-trainer approach will result in hundreds of individuals who are able to recognize the signs of mental illness and know how to refer individuals to appropriate resources as needed. In the longer term, this more responsive mental health environment will lead to improved and earlier access to services, and improve subsequent outcomes for those with mental illness. The purpose of the proposed project is to create a more responsive mental-health environment for individuals in the 13-county catchment area by increasing capacity for, and providing, mental health awareness training and support, and establishing community linkages by which individuals are referred to appropriate treatment and services. The Northeast Arkansas Mental Health Awareness Training Project will address the need for mental health awareness among a wide range of individuals and will provide for sustainability across time by developing a multidimensional interagency Mental Health First Aid advisory board composed of vested stakeholders. Another major component of the project is the training and dual certification of at least 6 MHFA Instructors. To facilitate the identification and use of community resources and support, both written (e.g., Resource Book) and electronic (e.g., on website) materials will be developed for those who have been trained in MHFA to use to refer individuals to appropriate services as the need arises. Additionally, the project will support the development of a community outreach strategy and a referral tracking process to track referrals to mental health resources and services by MHFA trained individuals. The specific goals of the project include (1) Increasing capacity of individuals in the area of focus to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders in adults and youth, especially Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), (2) Increase community awareness and knowledge of mental illness and work to reduce stigma associated with that illness, (3) Establish and enhance community linkages to train, respond, and refer individuals with signs and symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services, (4) Develop and implement a Mental Health Awareness Training Plan for consistency and sustainability. Throughout the 3-year grant period, we propose to serve 300 individuals (100 each year).

The UNMC, Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) mental health awareness project will provide veteran culturally competent training and skill development to address veteran mental health challenges. Nebraska’s 130,000+ veterans are at a higher risk for mental health difficulties and suicide. Veterans, their families, providers and community members will be trained to help identify those with a mental health disorder and safely intervene. The BHECN MHAT project is a collaborative partnership between the University of Nebraska Medical Center(UNMC)BHECN,the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors (NALHD), Nebraska Local Health Directors(LHD’s)and with Community Alliance of Omaha. The first goal is to foster alliances with veterans, families of veterans and local and state agencies that serve veterans to create effective recruitment pathways and increase the capacity of the MHAT program to provide veteran culturally specific mental health awareness training (MHAT) and referral pathways for mental health services. Objectives include: 1) By November 30th, 2018 and annually renewed thereafter, formal agreements will be in place to have LHD’s recruit veteran related participants and the general public to attend trainings where the collaborative partners will provide veteran culturally appropriate MHAT (QPR) and de-escalation MH training in eight geographically diverse locations throughout Nebraska annually; 2) By January 31st, 2019 and annually thereafter participating MHAT LHD’s will have an updated referral list of local mental health providers and referral pathway plan for veterans and family members; 3) By March 31st, 2019 develop an interagency advisory team to support the MHAT project by providing written input into the MHAT training dissemination plan, MHAT content and MHAT evaluation plans. The second goal of the project is to heighten awareness, knowledge and skills of those trained in MHAT so that they can recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness and know how to respond appropriately and safely to persons with a mental health disorder. Objectives include: 1) By August 31st, 2021 train 750 veterans, family members of veteran’s or staff of agencies serving veterans and their families and the general public on veteran culturally appropriate QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention and a Veteran specific SAMSHA Creating Safe Scenes type of training including de-escalation methods; and 2) By March 31st, 2020 BHECN MHAT will have identified and/or developed at least six veteran specific resources including the veteran centered de-escalation training that can provide supports for the individuals trained to transform the lives of veterans and their families who may be experiencing severe mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other mental health difficulties that may be impairing their functioning in daily life activities.

The Rutgers Children’s Center for Resilience and Trauma Recovery (CCRTR) has established a partnership with two neighboring communities in Southern, New Jersey to provide evidence-based mental health awareness trainings and create a shared language and approach to effectively recognize and respond to youth that are struggling with serious mental illness and suicidality. Our project partners include two school districts, local law enforcement and first responders, clergy, and a local mental health service agency to create a community of sensitivity and increased awareness for youth in this community. According to the 2016 data reported by the CDC, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and suicide rates have increased by 1.2 percent. Similar findings were reported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for the state of New Jersey. The AFSP reports that death by suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in New Jersey reporting that there is one death by suicide every 11 hours in the state. Additionally, the Department of Veteran Affairs has reported that roughly 20 veterans die by suicide per day nationwide. These findings are alarming and illustrate a need for “gatekeepers”, individuals across disciplines and at every level of care, to become aware of the signs of mental health crises and connect with clinical support. The school districts of two neighboring communities- Burlington Township and Willingboro, NJ- expressed interest in partnering with the CCRTR to receive mental health awareness training for their school districts and its partners: local law enforcement, clergy, and community members. Both communities house residents representing diversity in ethnicity, SES, etc. According to demographic data from the State of New Jersey, the population of Willingboro, NJ is 15.5% White, 67.2% Black/African American, 10.7% Hispanic or Latino, and 6.5.% other race identified. Burlington Township is 48.2% White, 27.9% Black/African American, 9.4%Hispanic or Latino, 4.6% Asian, 9.5% other race identified. This community also has a large population of military families. According to local educational and law enforcement data, there is evidence that both communities have dealt with 10 student deaths (by suicide), 6 law enforcement and emergency responder suicides, and increased reports of student anxiety, drug use, and child welfare involvement in the past 10 years. The need for professionals, parents, and peers to have an effective approach to youth dealing with mental illness and its sequelae is crucial. We intend to train our partners in our selected evidence-based programs of Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR), and Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). In total, we intend to train 225 people in Year 1, 255 in Year 2, and 255 people in Year 3, totaling 720 people over the course of the grant cycle. We also will establish an interdisciplinary advisory board- including youth- to promote sustainability of this important work beyond the grant cycle. Finally, we plan to track the volume and appropriateness of referrals to our designated mental health service agency partners.

The need for mental health and substance abuse awareness training on our college campuses and in our communities is clear given the high incidence and prevalence of these public health issues. This proposal seeks to accomplish 5 overarching goals: (1) Increase mental health awareness (including de-escalation techniques) of a large cross-sectional sample of 2500 University of Toledo faculty, staff, and students via the use of the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program including appropriate responses, information regarding available community resources, and how to make referrals; (2) Educate via Green Zone Training, faculty, staff, students and veteran/ active military students themselves, to recognize the specialized mental health needs of veterans/military students, resources available, and referral pathways; (3) Identify and further develop referral mechanisms and pathways including internal resources and community partners; (4) Collaborate with community partners to identify and further develop referral procedures/mechanisms that increase the ability of trained responders to make appropriate referrals; (5) Track community penetration of trained faculty, staff, students, & community agency personnel via geo-mapping and assess community impact of the MHFA training on self-reported interventions & referrals at a population health level. Through geo-mapping of communities in which our faculty, staff, and student trainees live and assessing ways they have utilized information in this training in community settings off campus, we will be able to also evaluate the impact of this training on the wider regional community. This community infusion of trained individuals will be enhanced further via MHFA training we will offer to staff in our partnering community agencies. This program will also place special emphasis on the mental health needs of individuals who are veterans or active military via the enhanced implementation of Green Zone Training. The overall purpose of this proposed project is to provide evidence-based MHFA and Green Zone training to 2250 faculty, staff, and students in our university community and in community partner agencies. This project will enable trainees to not only be able to recognize mental health (including SMI,SED, and substance abuse problems), but also to know how to respond and to help affected individuals obtain needed services and referrals.

Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) will provide youth-focused Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training to Chicago communities including schools, parents/families and to other social services organizations. C4's program expects to increase mental health literacy among youth-serving adults, parents, and administrators of programs serving youth in Chicago and to train 900 individuals in Youth MHFA over the course of three years. The target geographic catchment areas to be served are the City of Chicago communities, especially high need areas. The project will link adolescents with behavioral health issues to mental, emotional, and behavioral health assistance and services. The project will also increase C4's number of collaborative partnerships with relevant youth-serving community agencies and programs. The goals of the program will be to: Support the training of school teachers, and a broad array of individuals who interact with youth through their programs at the community level, including parents, and other adults, in Youth Mental Health First Aid that includes recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental illness, particularly, serious mental illness (SMI) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED); and identifying resources available in the community for youth with a mental illness. Identify the intended individuals to receive Youth Mental Health First Aid Training to be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness and how to appropriately and safely respond. Establish referral mechanisms that increase the ability of individuals trained in mental health awareness to refer and link youth with a mental illness or SMI/SED to mental health resources and services. Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) is a leading provider of community-based mental health services in Illinois offering a comprehensive range of mental health and crisis intervention services to over 7,000 children, adults and families each year. C4 was the first agency in Chicago to have staff trained in 2008. C4 has successfully trained over 3,000 individuals in Mental Health First Aid. Activities to successfully deliver 12 MHFA training sessions per year (36 sessions over three years) to 900 individuals (300 per year) include: certifying eight trainers as MHFA instructors through Mental Heath First Aid USA ; organizing, scheduling and delivering Youth MHFA training throughout the City of Chicago; and promoting Youth MHFA training to interested individuals who work directly with youth and their families. MHFA training will be offered in English and Spanish.

The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), located within the New Jersey Department of Health, proposes a statewide Mental Health Awareness Training Project with the goal of training individuals who are in regular contact with adolescents and young adults so that they can identify those with mental illness and substance use and refer them to appropriate treatment services. The grant will support training these individuals in the nationally recognized and evidence-based educational program called Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which will be used along with Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) for Suicide Prevention to equip trainees with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively identify those at risk and to intervene and to refer as needed. The target population are individuals aged 14-24 years who have mental illness and/or a substance use disorder, and especially those with severe emotional distress (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI), and those who have a potential for self-injurious or suicidal behaviors. The trainees will also be able to refer those identified as needing services to the appropriate licensed mental health provider. These trainings will be offered to all people who have routine contact with adolescents and young adults in school and other settings, with a special focus on colleges and universities, active duty Guard and Reserve units, and veterans. A dedicated, multicultural team of full-time and part-time certified trainers from the Disaster and Terrorism Branch (DTB) of DMHAS will provide these trainings. Trainers come from diverse backgrounds that include the military, law enforcement, education, mental health and/or addiction fields. For over 15 years, this team has worked statewide with emergency response partners, first responders, schools, community organizations and faith-based entities. The objectives of the project reflect the expansion of the training capacity and the type and frequency of the training of MHFA and QPR to a variety of populations who interact and work with adolescents and young adults. Two Youth MHFA trainers and three MHFA trainers will be certified in Year One. Annually there will be 24 sessions offered with approximately 600 persons trained. At the end of three years, approximately 1,650 individuals will be trained on MHFA. Also with this grant, five trainers will be certified for QPR. Four QPR trainings will be offered each month with an approximately 960 participants trained annually. At the end of the three years, a total of 2,640 individuals will be trained in QPR suicide prevention. To enhance mental health awareness and suicide prevention among veterans and first responders, a forum will be offered annually to at least 80 Active duty military, Reservists, veterans and first responders. At the end of the three years, over 240 participants will take part in the forums.