Mental Health First Aid offered by BRBHC on Saturday Dec. 7 in Roanoke

News coverage of celebrity suicides, opioid overdoses and increasing rates of depression have left the country reeling and asking – what can we do? Mental Health First Aid is part of that answer. It’s an 8-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. On December 7, 2019, there will be a FREE Mental Health First Aid training (provided free by a grant through nccPA Health Foundation) at SafeSide Tactical. Through this partnership, we hope to teach more people the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with a mental health or substance use problem and to connect them with appropriate support and resources when necessary.

One in five Americans has a mental illness, but many are reluctant to seek help or might not know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect. For friends and family members, it can be hard to know when and how to step in. As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not get them until it is too late. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 24-year-olds and it is estimated that 47,000 Americans died by suicide in 2017. In addition to providing MHFA, this partnership promotes Lock and Talk has an important strategy to promote means safety as an effective method of preventing suicides from occurring.

Lock and Talk promotes safe and responsible care of guns, medications and other lethal means. “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, which helped bring Mental Health First Aid to the U.S. in 2008. “When more people are equipped with the tools they need to start a dialogue, more people can get the help they may need.” Training Information:

December 7, 2019 9:00am – 5:30pm SafeSide Tactical 1201 Shenandoah Ave NW Roanoke, VA 24017

submitted by Sheila Lythgoe, BRBHC