Nearly twenty percent of people in the United States live in a rural area. The challenges faced by residents in rural areas are significantly different than those in urban areas. Rural populations are often underserved and possess health and behavioral health disparities. Rural communities have a chronic shortage of behavioral health providers and limited access to services. Mental Health First Aid has the potential to address these disparities in rural communities by increasing mental health literacy (i.e., knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention) among key community members – creating a stronger, more prepared network of support for individuals living in rural areas..
Rural Mental Health First Aid is a way to build community level capacity to identify mental health and substance abuse issues early and for rural residents to increase their confidence to intervene and refer people to the resources that do exist. Rural communities have a long history of being innovative and taking responsibility. Mental Health First Aid is a way to increase the level of baseline knowledge about mental health and substance abuse issues and to decrease the negative perceptions often associated with these issues.
Our targeted effort to serve rural communities addresses their unique characteristics, recognizes the community of rural Mental Health First Aid instructors, and enhances community capacity around behavioral health issues in rural areas. Mental Health First Aid for Law Enforcement and Public Safety. An awareness of the particular needs of people with mental illness can help officers and staff better serve the public, work more efficiently and increase safety. An officer or staff person’s ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness can be a valuable tool when assessing an individual or incident
Individuals with severe mental illness are eleven times more likely to be the victim of a crime than the general population. (2005 study by Northwestern University). Increased access to mental health treatment will lead to decreased encounters with the criminal justice system overall Public Safety Staff often work with the same individuals across the criminal justice system.
What is the difference between the 8 hour Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety Program and the 40 hour Crisis Intervention Team [CIT] Training? CIT training is an excellent in-depth program that enjoys widespread adoption across the country, but not every department has the resources to train all officers or staff in the CIT program, nor is every officer or staff member ready for this intensive certification. The goal of most departments is to have at least 25% of their force CIT Certified.
Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety is a good compliment to CIT training – a one day course for the 75% of officers or staff who are not yet CIT certified or may never be. Also, some police departments use Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety as a complement to their CIT program, training newer officers and those who express interest in joining the CIT team in Mental Health First Aid as a first step.
Overall, more than 20,000 Police Officers, Corrections Officers, and other Public Safety Staff have taken the course across the country. A few specific organizations with particularly comprehensive programs:
The course is taught by certified instructors with a public safety designation. These instructors are required to have a background in Law Enforcement, Corrections or Public Safety and are usually members of their specific audience. Mental Health First Aid has thousands of instructors in all 50 states, but often counties or local police academies find it makes sense to train their own instructors when they launch the program – often individuals who also teach the CIT program at the police or corrections academy. Instructors are certified at a five day intensive train-the-trainer course offered around the country. Once certified to teach the course, the instructor can teach as many individuals they like at a very low incremental cost – simply the price of the course materials per student. The program is designed to be affordable and sustainable to reach the widest possible audience.
For more information about how to schedule a training or sign up for a training, please call us at 678-653-7891 or send us a message using our contact page. To download this article in a PDF version Click Here!