The National Council for Mental Wellbeing last week announced that Mental Health First Aid has reached a historic milestone: 5 million people trained across the United States. The achievement reflects the growing commitment to improve access to evidence‐based programs and follows an announcement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that three new funding opportunities are available to support more education and training, the National Council stated in a news release. SAMHSA has released applications for Project AWARE, Mental Health Awareness and Trauma‐Informed Support Services grants. “These federal grants provide the resources to expand access to vital mental health and substance use programs, including Mental Health First Aid, and continue efforts to increase the number of people able to recognize the signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use crisis,” National Council President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said. The National Council brought Mental Health First Aid to the United States in 2008 and has continued to expand the program's reach, helping bring practical mental health and substance use response skills to more people and communities each year. Today, the evidence‐based, early intervention program offers a variety of courses to meet the needs of different audiences and settings, including adults, youth‐serving adults, teens, public safety professionals, higher education communities, workplaces, older adults and more. New funding opportunities will provide organizations with the resources to train more people in these vital programs.
Valerie A. Canady (Sat,) studied this question.