Mental health first-aid training offered in Bay City and Standish – MLive.com

BAY CITY, MI - A different type of first-aid training will be offered in 2020 in Bay and Arenac counties. Instead of learning how to bandage wounds or splint broken bones, trainees will learn how to provide mental health assistance.

Adult mental health first aid and youth mental health first aid training courses are being offered in Bay City and Standish as a part of a national initiative to increase mental health literacy. The classes aim to help give people the tools to identify those struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues and to connect them with the necessary resources.

Through this program, we hope to take the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems, says Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health. When more people are equipped with the tools they need to start dialogue, more people can get the help they need.

The youth mental health first aid class will take place on Jan. 21 in Bay City and March 17 in Standish, while the adult mental health first aid classes will be held Feb. 17, April 20, and Sept. 21 in Bay City and June 15 in Standish.

Bay City classes will take place at the Bay-Arenac Behavioral Health Staff Development Center at 1010 N. Madison Ave. and Standish classes will be held at the Arenac Community Center at 583 E. Cedar St.

The cost for the eight-hour training courses is $30, which includes lunch and a mental health first aid textbook.

According to Bay-Arenac Behavioral Health, one in five Americans has a mental illness but many are reluctant to seek help and that symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect. The organization said that it tends to be difficult for friends and family members to know when and how to step in.

The mental health first aid programs center around a 5-step action plan that guides participants through the process of reaching out and offering support.

For more information or to participate in a Mental Health First Aid training in Bay City or Standish, Michigan, visit Bay-Arenac Behavioral Healths Facebook page to get the informational flyer and registration form or contact Bay-Arenac Behavioral Health Staff Development Center at 989-895-2395 or via email at staffdevelopment@babha.org.

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Mental health first-aid training offered in Bay City and Standish - MLive.com