Tag: youth

“Start with Hello” week Feb. 5-9 hopes to reduce isolation among kids

Families who lost loved ones at Sandy Hook hope to end the loneliness and isolation that lead to such acts.

Young people in the U.S. are increasingly feeling isolated, from their families, friends, schools, society, and perhaps themselves. The worst result could be that they harm themselves or others.

The issue will be in sharp focus in Rhode Island and across the country between February 5-9 during “Start with Hello Week”. The nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise is encouraging schools and youth organizations from across the country to design and take part in activities that week that aim to build connectedness and combat social isolation. Visit the Sandy Hook Promise website to sign the promise and look at year-round programs.

Learning First Alliance/Rhode Island is promoting Start with Hello Week in the state. Visit LFA/RI’s website for what it’s doing; go to its Facebook page for a new one-minute video and quick updates.

6 Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid trainings scheduled, February-May

A training you should include with your CPR, lifesaving, and first aid background

You are just as likely to encounter someone in mental health crisis as one who needs CPR, if not more so, points out South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds (HBHM) Director Susan Orban.

“The statistics are daunting in South County,” she notes. “We have high rates of substance abuse from teens to elders. As many as one in three youths experience depression at least once every year. We have psychiatric hospitalizations and, sadly, suicides.”

In response, HBHM works with the international Mental Health First Aid organization to train parents, afterschool programmers, educators, camp counselors, juvenile police officers, and others in the curriculum for Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA).

Free of charge, the 8-hour training focuses on being aware of early signs of concern and how to provide immediate support until professional help can be secured.

HBHM offers a similar program for adults helping adults: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).