Youth Mental Health First Aid and Suicide Prevention

At Virginia Home for Boys and Girls (VHBG), we’re putting out a rallying cry to make Youth Mental Health First Aid as common as traditional first aid and CPR. Because we work with young people, we hear from the adults in their lives that they wish they had known what to do and what to say when they suspected their youth was dealing with a mental health issue. Some adults say they were afraid they would make things worse if they said the wrong thing and so they felt helpless.

According to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), depression and anxiety in youth doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels; 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24; and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ are twice as likely to have a mental health condition than their straight peers and 2 to 3 times more likely to die by suicide.

When a young person is struggling, it’s up to ALL of us to notice, but how?

First, we need to spread awareness of this terrible, upward trend happening to our children and grandchildren.

Second, we need to get educated because anyone anywhere can be the one to make a difference in the life of someone with a mental health challenge … if they learn what to do and what to say.

Concerned adults need to know the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health challenges that are common among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders, and substance use disorders. They need to understand the importance of early intervention. And they need to know how to help an adolescent who is in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge.

I teach Youth Mental Health First Aid (available nationally at MentalHealthFirstAid.org). I want people (including parents, grandparents, coaches, church and youth group leaders, childcare workers, teachers, employers … and more) to know that evidence-based training can help them learn to identify the signs of mental health distress in youth and then respond proactively.

This training gives tools and confidence to know what to say, what not to say, and how to respond. The eight-hour courses for adults are available in both English and Spanish, in-person and virtual.

If you can learn traditional First Aid, you can learn Mental Health First Aid as well.

The pandemic has exacerbated the growing number of young people who are suffering. Mental health has never been more important. Please consider finding a Youth Mental Health First Aid Workshop offered near you. You will learn how to intervene to make a difference in someone’s life.

VHBG offers the Youth Mental Health First Aid workshop free-of-charge to the public each month on its campus in Henrico, Virginia, thanks to grant funding, and travels to train private groups at their location within Virginia.