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.
The second mental health awareness model that is widely offered is called the Community Resiliency Model (CRM). CRM themes include:
- Toxic Stress and ACEs
- Biology of the nervous system
- Resiliency skills for coping
- 6 easy to implement stress reduction skills
The 6 mindfulness skills are taught for participants to recalibrate their nervous systems when they are feeling stressed or triggered. Whereas YMHFA focuses on helping others, CRM shows participants how to calm their own anxiety, stress, and trauma triggers.
For information on Community Training, contact
Britney Twitty – britney.twitty@ncyvpc.org
Angela Hicks – angela.hicks@ncyvpc.org
Outreach and Engagement through Art
NC-YVPC hosts “paint parties” where high risk, previously traumatized youth come together to paint. Each month, an expressive art therapist and life coach guides the group as they discuss a therapeutic theme for the paintings. Youth discuss their ideas and experiences as they paint, and they connect with each other during this safe, creative activity. Hosting expressive art groups like this allows for a safe space where youth struggling after trauma can find support and a creative outlet for healing.
- Participating in the process of artmaking restores a sense of safety and control in the child’s life and allows for the expression of the inexpressible (Malchiodi 2003).
- The painting allows children to experience a safe distance between themselves and their painful emotions and can serve as creative evidence of one’s story.
- Trauma increases activation of the amygdala and hippocampus, two structures within the limbic system, which have no verbal output.
Paint Parties have a guest artist who leads the group and provides supportive feedback. Each Paint Party has a therapeutic theme that has some connection to healing, stress reduction, or protective factors such as social support.
Qualitative quotes from Paint Party participants show some of the program’s positive effects.
“(Paint Party) was an expressive experience where we got to share stories with each other.”
“Paint party gave me connection with others.”
“I like that they provided us the supplies, cleaned after us, making it stress free. It was fun and helped me feel calm and relaxed.”
Feedback from participant surveys has been very positive:
- 97% of youth participating in paint parties liked being part of the group
- 97% of youth participating in paint parties liked the theme
- 94% of youth participating in paint parties reported that the paint party was relaxing
- 94% of youth participating in paint parties said the facilitators were encouraging
For information on Paint Parties, contact
Stephanie Edwards – stephanie.edwards@ncyvpc.org
