VICKSBURG, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Vicksburg High School is among 35 other schools that have been selected by the National Council for Behavioral Health to implement a pilot teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) program, according to an official press release.
With support from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and a partnership with Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS), Vicksburg High School will train more than 230 10th-grade students this fall.
The training is the first of its kind developed for high school students in the United States.
“We are so very excited about this opportunity to help students at Vicksburg High School gain information to help students recognize the signs of a mental health challenge in their friends,” KCMHSAS trainer for Mental Health First Aid and the mother of a 10th-grade Vicksburg student Danielle Sackrider said. “Knowledge is power. We wouldn’t expect students to do a complicated math problem without first teaching them basic skills. Teaching the 5-step action plan is teaching the basic skills needed for students to help a friend who may be facing a mental health and/or substance abuse challenge or crisis.”
Students participating in tMHFA will learn a 5-step program will learn how to recognize and respond to a friend in the middle of a mental health or substance abuse crisis.
Since the program emphasizes getting help from a trusted adult, KCMHSAS and Vicksburg High School have trained 39 school staff in the Youth Mental Health First Aid program, which trains adults working with youth.
“We’re thrilled Vicksburg is one of the first U.S. high schools to participate in teen Mental Health First Aid,” president and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health Chuck Ingoglia said. “Teens trust their friends, so they need to be trained to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in their peers. The number one thing a teen can do to support a friend dealing with anxiety or depression is to help the friend seek support from a trusted adult.”
Lady Gaga, co-founder of Born This Way Foundation, issued a comment when speaking with 16 students who completed the first tMHFA pilot in eight schools across the country.
“With teen Mental Health First Aid, we like to say, it’s okay to not be okay,” Lady Gaga said. “Together, Born This Way and the National Council have put this program in eight schools. I know for certain that I’m not stopping here,” Lady Gaga said. “I want the teen Mental Health First Aid program in every school in this country.”
More information about KCMHSAS’ Mental Health First Aid classes can be found at kazoocmh.org/MentalHealthFirstAid.aspx.
