Finalist in Rethinking Mental Health Competition

Contact Meena Dayak at MeenaD@thenationalcouncil.org or 202.684.3728

(Washington DC, December 1, 2009)—Mental Health First Aid USA is a finalist in the Ashoka’s Changemakers and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Rethinking Mental Health: Improving Community Wellbeing international competition. Please take a minute to vote online today for Mental Health First Aid  — voting closes December 9.

The Rethinking Mental Health competition received more than 340 inspiring entries  — smart programs and bold solutions to expand society’s understanding of mental health and wellness — from 42 countries. Judges selected a group of 12 finalists for their vision, impact, and unique approach. Now the public must vote online for the three best solutions.

Mental Health First Aid USA is managed by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council), the Maryland State Department of Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Offered as an interactive 12-hour certification course, Mental Health First Aid introduces participants to risk factors, warning signs, and impact of mental health problems and overviews common treatments. Participants learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in a psychiatric crisis connect with appropriate professional, social, and self-help care. The course also helps participants learn the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. Mental Health First Aid is designed to fight the stigma associated with mental illness and to address the real desire to help someone who is struggling.

“Mental Health First Aid makes it okay to reach out. So often people want to help, but we’re not sure what to do and don’t want to risk doing the ‘wrong’ thing. Mental Health First Aid teaches participants that it’s okay not to have all the answers and increases their comfort level,” explains Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council. “The program also helps to enhance community resilience by providing an easy-to-understand service,” she added.

Within a year of introduction in the USA, Mental Health First Aid has been offered to more than 3,000 persons, including hospital workers, employers and business leaders, members of faith communities, school personnel, police, first responders, policymakers, and families of persons with mental illness.

Vote today to show that you care about mental health and community wellbeing. Express your support for Mental Health First Aid USA and help to realize the vision of making this groundbreaking program as common as First Aid and CPR in the U.S.by 2020. Go here and click on the Vote Now button (you will be required to register, it only takes a minute). Every vote counts — spread the word to your online community and help us improve mental health awareness.

Mental Health First Aid USA is a collaboration between the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council), the Maryland State Department of Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Mental Health First Aid was created in Australia by a nurse, Betty Kitchener and mental health literacy professor, Tony Jorm and has a strong evidence base. To find a Mental Health First Aid program in your community, or to learn how you can certify instructors to offer community trainings, go here.