Community Awareness through Training Community Stakeholders
The NC-YVPC Training Unit provides two types of training to raise awareness of mental health issues. Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) trains adults on how to engage youth in crises. This program provides material on youth development, stress, and mental health problems, including substance use and suicidality. The training teaches a 5-stage model for engaging youth who are experiencing a mental health, suicide, or substance abuse crisis. The model is shown in Figure 1. Participant data shows positive engagement and growth in confidence. Before training, 85% of participants were not confident (1 or 2 on a scale to 5). After the training, 100% of participants reported an increase in confidence (3,4, or 5 on a scale of 1-5) in their ability to have a supportive conversation with a youth about mental health, suicide, or a substance use challenge.