COLUMBUS—Charity Turner wanted to learn more about youth mental health for her work with young girls.
- Mental health first aid training is important when interacting with youth
- Participants learn the ALGEE model
- The training is free and available in most regions of Ohio
“Through my non-profit Beautifully Flawed, we provide a tailored holistic approach to help girls heal and grow from the inside out,” said Turner.
She's already seen the impact of mental illness in her youth who have experienced trauma– withdrawal, relationship issues, distress in school, and other changes in behavior or mood.
“It's important to notice the said and unsaid for me in the line of work that I do, and not only that but to help to illuminate the strengths that they already have,” Turner said.
Learning to notice those signs in youth is the reason for mental health first-aid training — it's like learning CPR for your brain.
“Like with any other health condition, prevention and early intervention impacts recovery and it saves that person,” said Turner.
Mental health first aid trainer Tracee Black-Fall says that the youth training is for anyone who interacts with children
“If a custodian or a bus driver sees this young person, and they are struggling, and they have signs and symptoms, they can get them help,” said Black-Fall.
Devon Diehl says he hopes the class will help him engage more with the young people he serves.
“I hope to be able to be more patient with them but patient with more strategy,” said Diehl. “I just want to help, I really just want to help. So, I'm going to use my patience, and some of the skills I've learned to do everything I can to help these youth better."
Over the 8 hours, participants learn the ALGEE model— it stands for assess for risk of suicide or harm, listen non-judgmentally, give reassurance and information, encourage appropriate professional help, and encourage self-help and other support strategies.
Turner says the class will help her to have even more conversation with her youth about their well-being.
“It helps break the stigma,” said Turner. The more we talk about it the more people become comfortable with saying, I'm not ok all the time, the more we are able to make people aware of the resources that are available to them.”
Like this training, which is free and available in most regions of the state—Black-Fall says that the data shows the importance.
“We're talking about suicide being the second leading cause of death for young people. So, you're talking about prevention rather than crisis intervention and saving lives,” said Black-Fall.