OMM was honored to host our first in-person teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training at Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington, DC last month! tMHFA is a course brought to you by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the Born This Way Foundation that teaches teens in grades 10-12 how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among their friends and peers.

About 15 students attended the training at the end of April over the course of three days, which was facilitated by OMM staff members Mo and Rachel. CHEC students were so passionate about mental health and engaged in all of the content, which included: the different between a mental health challenge and a crisis, how to spot warning signs of suicide and other mental health crises, having a conversation with a friend about their mental health, the importance of connecting a friend with a trusted adult if they’re in crisis, how to put someone who overdosed in the recovery position, and the importance of being a good friend to someone struggling with their mental health.

tMHFA can save lives, and the students at CHEC are now ready to go out into the world as teen mental health first aiders! We are so proud of you and can’t wait to watch the impact you have on your school and community. Keep fighting for what’s right and keep that compassion.

We also want to shout out the participants of our very first virtual tMHFA training! About 10 students joined us on Zoom from all over the country for six evening training sessions that covered the same content as our training with CHEC. Talk about commitment! It was so amazing holding virtual space with you all and a huge congrats to you for becoming teen mental health first aiders.

The feedback from students in both training sessions has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are so humbled and happy to hear it! Some highlights include all students reporting that the tMHFA content was relevant to their school community, an increase in confidence in their ability to support a friend in crisis, and an increase in confidence in their ability to take care of their own mental health. One student shared “This experience was very special and went by so quick. I learned a lot of things I never knew about mental health challenges…I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this training and I will take the skills I learned with me.”

Whether you joined us virtually or in-person, we had such a blast learning and growing with you. You’re ready to be there for your friends during a mental health challenge or crisis, AND you now know how to keep your own mental health safe at the same time. Your minds matter too.

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Risa Fund whose generous donation made all of this possible.

Want more info on teen Mental Health First Aid? Check out their website here for a training near you.