HANCOCK HEALTH FOUNDATION & PARTNERS PRESENT YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID WORKSHOP SERIES
Hancock County, Miss. June 19, 2023 - The Hancock Health Foundation, in collaboration with the Hancock County Library System, the Mental Health Association of South MS and Pine Belt Mental Health, will provide free 'Youth Mental Health First Aid’ (YMHFA) as part of the library system’s GOOD to KNOW! series and will provide training to adults who live with, work with or serve children and teenagers.
Five one-day training sessions will be held, one at each branch of the Hancock Library System. The Waveland Library hosted the first workshop to great success. Upcoming dates for the rest of the series are as follows:
August 2nd - East Hancock (Diamondhead) Library - 4545 Shepherd Square
August 3rd - Bay St. Louis Library - 312 Highway 90
August 25th - Pearlington Library - 6096 First Ave.
August 29th - Kiln Library - 17065 Highway 603
All workshops will take place from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided by Uncle Joe’s Pizza & Wings. Educators are eligible to earn CEU’s from this workshop.
YMHFA is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. YMHFA is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people.
The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.
This Mental Health program will equip trainees with skills to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health issues and substance use challenges and crisis experiences in youth. The onset of mental health issues is often due to trauma. A traumatic experience has a ripple effect, much like throwing a rock in water.
"We have recently seen the devastating effects mental health issues in our youth can have on our community at large with the recent shooting at an after-prom house party,” said Sherry Ponder, President of the Hancock Health Foundation. The shooting resulted in the death of two local teens, and injury of four others. She added, "perhaps the outcome could have been different if someone had been able to recognize and provide Mental Health First Aid.”
To register for the workshop, please call the Waveland Library at (228) 467-9240 or follow this link: https://bit.ly/YMHFAHancock
The libraries' willingness to host the trainings, provides opportunities in our various community neighborhoods. Sponsors of the Youth Mental Health First Aid Workshop Series include the Hancock Health Foundation, Hancock County Library System, Mental Health Association of South Mississippi and Pine Belt Mental Health.
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About the Hancock Health Foundation: The Hancock Health Foundation is passionate and relentless in our goal of making sure Hancock County’s healthcare needs are met. Our projects truly run the gamut across the community. Whether we’re donating life-saving equipment to our local hospital, ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens have access to nutritious meals or sponsoring mammograms for women without insurance, we truly believe that there is no need too great or small.