Kitsap Mental Health Services is one of 18 organizations nationwide to be awarded a community grant to support Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training programs in Kitsap County. A $4,000 grant from the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare will be used to increase the number of Mental Health First Aid courses available for community members, employees, social service providers, and others interested in knowing more about signs and symptoms of mental illness, and how to respond. The program has also recently received a $4,000 grant from NAMI Kitsap County for the purpose of training several additional certified instructors to meet the local requests for the highly acclaimed training.

“Part of helping someone with a mental illness is knowing how to access local resources, and this program does a great job of showing people how to reach out in the community to get help” states Beth Friedman Darner, KMHS Clinical Associate Director and Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor. The training also addresses the risk factors and warning signs of specific illnesses like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and substance use disorders.

The two-day course is especially helpful to people working with the public. The next available course takes place November 8^th and 9th. Cost for the course is $30; registration is required no later than October 28th. For more information, or to register for Mental Health First Aid, contact KMHS at 360-415-5801 or e-mail communityrelations@kmhs.org. Additional information is available on Kitsap Mental Health Services’ website at http://www.kitsapmentalhealth.org/.