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CGC certifies nine adults in Mental Health First Aid
Representatives of the CNMI Superior Court’s Office of Adult Probation and the CNMI Substance Abuse, Addictions & Rehabilitation Program participate in Adult Mental Health First Aid training. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Community Guidance Center certified nine additional individuals on Oct. 27, 2021, in Adult Mental Health First Aid.
The participating agencies included the CNMI Superior Court’s Office of Adult Probation and the CNMI Substance Abuse, Addictions & Rehabilitation Program.
The groundbreaking skills-based course teaches participants the tools to identify, understand, and respond to someone who might be struggling with a mental health or substance use challenge, and connect them with appropriate support and resources when necessary.
Friends and family members may find it hard to know when and how to step in, and as a result, those in need of mental health services often do not receive care until much later. But just as CPR helps those without medical training assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
Led by CGC’s Kimberly Seman Tudela and Lorielyn Duenas Lacay, Mental Health First Aiders learned the MHFA five-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support, which helps break down barriers and stigma in order to better support one another.
The CGC has certified a total of 1,168 individuals in the CNMI, Palau, and Guam in either the MHFA youth curriculum, adult curriculum, or both.
For more information on MHFA, visit https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org. For contact information and to request for the CGC’s MHFA training, visit https://chcc.gov.mp/communitysupporttraining.php. (PR)
