At New Morning in Woodbury: Mental Health First Aid Course to Be Offered Free of Charge

WOODBURY - New Morning will host a free Mental Health First Aid training session from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, June 18 and 25 at its 129 Main St. North location.

"Mental health challenges touch all of us; my hope is that this training can promote wellness and speed recovery for those in need," said John Pittari, founder and owner. "We are excited to be supporting this important national initiative."

Mental Health First Aid trainings are available in Litchfield County under a federal grant (SAMHSA Project AWARE Community Grant) awarded to Mental Health Connecticut, Inc. Like CPR, the Mental Health First Aid eight-hour certificate training provides community members with tools to respond to someone who is in crisis; however, it also helps participants to recognize the signs and symptoms of a developing mental health problem and provide an important bridge to care.

Those who receive this certificate training are not professionals and do not diagnose or provide therapy. Instead, the program offers concrete tools and answers key questions about what to do and where someone may find help.

Available in the U.S. for 10 years and managed by the National Council for Behavioral Health, 500,000 First Aiders have been trained to date. This event is part of a nationwide push to double that number, asking residents of Litchfield County to step forward and become "one in a million" by taking Mental Health First Aid Training.

New Morning offered several reasons for this training offering, including the substance use disorder epidemic in the county; the 10-year median time from the onset of mental health problems to the receipt of professional care; that the leading cause of hospitalization in Connecticut for residents five through 45 years-old is mental health problems, surpassing respiratory illness in 2012; because the Federal Government has determined that young adults ages 16 through 24 are underserved relative to mental health support; because early intervention supports early recovery and because stigma and myth still lead to silent suffering.

CEU/CME credits are available.

Those who wish to register may visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saturday-june-18-25-830-100-woodbury-ct-registration-24231786927.

Those seeking more information may contact Mental Health Community Educator and Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor Valerie English-Cooper at 860-471-6715 or venglishcooper@mhconn.org.