LEARN

Education And Training

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

We teach women the skills to identify and respond to the signs of mental illnesses and substance abuse.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID Matters

Most of us would know how to help if we saw someone having a heart attack—we’d start CPR or, at the very least, call 911. Unfortunately, though, too few of us would know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack or if we were concerned a friend and/or co-worker might be showing signs of alcoholism.

Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by improving understanding and providing an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and address a potential mental illness or substance use problem.

A book that is sitting on top of a table.

What Is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance abuse. What you learn:

  • Risk Factors
  • Warning Signs
  • Symptoms of Mental Health Problems
  • Information on depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, and addiction disorders
  • A 5-step action plan to help someone developing a mental health problem or in a crisis
  • Where to turn for help: professional, peer, self-help resources, etc.

Why should you take the class?

  • 11% of youth have a mood disorder.
  • 1 in 5 college students will face a mental health condition.
  • 1 in 5 adults in America experiences a mental illness.
  • Nearly 1 in 25 (10 million) adults in America live with a serious mental illness.
  • 1% (42 million) of American adults live with anxiety disorders.
  • Nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness didn’t receive mental health services in the previous year.
  • Adults living with serious mental illnesses die on average 25 years earlier than other Americans. This is largely due to treatable medical conditions.
  • For every death by suicide, there are 25 people who attempt it.

How do I get trained?

Our training classes equip women with the skills they will need to reach out and support someone who may be developing a mental health problem, substance use problem, or someone in crisis.

Know the facts and take a course to help an adult or young person in need. Learn how to start the conversation.

Please contact us for additional information or register for an upcoming class.

4 Reasons To Become A Mental Health First Aider

  • Be prepared: When a mental health crisis occurs, you’ll know what to do.
  • Mental illnesses are common: 1 in 5 children – ages 13–18 in any given year.
  • You can help: People living with mental illnesses often have to go through it alone. You’ll know when and how to step in and offer support.
  • You care: Be there for a friend, a family member, a colleague, or a complete stranger.
A group of people that are sitting in front of each other.

Learn How To Apply the Action Plan

Assess for risk of suicide or harm
Listen nonjudgmentally
Give reassurance and information
Encourage appropriate professional help
Encourage self-help and other support strategies

Mental Health First Aid Tips

  • Coping with Back-to-School Anxiety During COVID-19
  • Tips to Help Teens Cope During COVID-19
  • Four Simple Tips to Help You Manage Anxiety Related to COVID-19
  • A Practical Guide to Self-care When Working from Home
  • How to Support a Loved One Who Has Been Impacted by COVID-19.

Sisterhood Support Community

We deliver a support forum for women to connect to each other by sharing experiences, exchanging coping strategies, and by relating to one another.

Her Feelings Matter Too

When a friend or family member develops a mental health condition, it’s important to know that you’re not alone. Many women have gone through the process of caring for a person with a mental illness. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, 1 in 25 Americans live with a serious mental health condition. Mental health professionals have effective treatments for most of these conditions, yet in any given year, only 60% of people with a mental illness receive proper mental health care.

As a result, family members, caregivers, and friends often play a large role in supporting their friend and/or loved one on their road to recovery. You may be trying to aid a family member who doesn’t have access to adequate mental health care or who doesn’t want help, or you may want to learn how to support someone who has been hospitalized or who has experienced a similar mental health crisis.

As a family member and/or friend of someone living with a mental illness, it’s important to build your own support system. You might think your problems are small in comparison to what your friend and/or loved one is coping with – they are not. You are just as deserving of help and comfort.

Gathering strength through others will lead to camaraderie, confidence and assurance that, “Someone else knows what I am going through.”

How do I get support?

Our peer-to-peer support community connects women interested in establishing relationships, sharing experiences, and learning from one another.

We provide a safe, private place for women who support a friend and/or loved one living with mental health challenges and who need information as well as sisterly support to cope with their circumstances. Women receive emotional backing, motivation, and self-care strategies in a secure and comfortable environment.

Please contact us for additional information or register for an upcoming group meeting.

A woman holding up a book in front of a brick wall.
Two women in black dresses posing for a picture.

Program Flyer

Click on the link below to download our program flyer.
Sisters helping Each Other (SHE)

Sisters Helping Each other (SHE)

We believe a single flame can light one thousand candles. With our programs, our goal is to ignite each woman to fight the battle against suicide, so that she may in turn ignite her community, and in conjunction with other women, the entire world.

4 Reasons to Join a Support Community

Decreased sense of isolation:

By sharing feelings, accomplishments, losses, and humor known only to those who are part of the group, participants can develop strong emotional ties to one another.

Freedom to express negative feelings:

The freedom to express negative feelings and to identify with those who can relate to you lets you realize you are not the only one. You can experience a great sense of emotional relief from the support of others.

Learn to develop effective coping skills:

By sharing information and resources, learning how others have coped with similar problems, and experimenting with the coping strategies of others, you can improve your own problem solving skills.

Enhanced self-esteem:

The return of your emotional energy as you gain a sense of perspective and control during a difficult time. Emotional energy can be used to address other life issues and challenges that may have been put on hold.