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Teachers, administrators and staff in the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation are being trained and certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
“When I came across this, I knew this was the one,” said Erica Garrity, the wellness coordinator with the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation.
Garrity and Kaci Smart worked together to make all of this happen within the district.
It all goes back to Project AWARE, Advancing Wellness And Resiliency in Education, which is helping districts like this one prioritize its students’ well-being.
“We are a Project AWARE school, which is a federal grant through SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), Indiana DOE (Department of Education) and the DMHA (Division of Mental Health and Addiction). Through this federal grant, I really saw a need for mental health training in schools,” Garrity said.
One of the main goals is to get teachers, staff, community partners and even parents trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
The main part of that training is a checklist known as ALGEE.
“[The training] takes you through something we call ALGEE,” Garrity said. “How do we approach someone? How do we listen to someone non-judgmentally? How do we give reassurance, and how do we get them connected? How do we encourage either self-help or professional help?”
From here, people getting certified will walk through different scenarios, responding in ways they think are best to help a student in need.
“Staff are able to see that and have that language on, ‘How do I approach that student?’ ‘What do I say to that student?’ And they know now,” Garrity said.
So far, 300 people within the district have been certified. Most recently, front office staff members earned their certifications. And there are plans to get even more people certified soon.
“I think it means a lot to the kids that they have someone that they feel comfortable with that they can go to and talk with, ‘Hey, this is what is really bothering me’ or ‘This is what makes me really upset,’” said Emma Kirchmeyer, a staff member who was recently certified.
The initiative is making an impact inside the classroom and out in the community too.
“What we see the most are staff members saying, ‘Because of this training, I now know how to talk to my daughter.,’ ‘Because of this training, I now know how to talk to my grandson.’ That is the biggest impact we’ve been able to take away,” Garrity said.
And now the district is expanding to more ages. Next month, they will be focusing on Adult Mental Health First Aid training.
“Our staff are struggling too, so how do we support our staff?” Garrity said.
From there, the district will work with teenagers specifically, so they have the proper tools on how to help one another during a mental health challenge or crisis.
“The grant will move into the Teen Mental Health First Aid, where we train teens on how to support each other,” Garrity said.
The hope is to see how this training can expand to other districts in the future too.
“I think it would be fantastic,” Kirchmeyer said. “I think it would help a lot of teachers, a lot of kids understand, ‘Hey, there are a lot of people out there that’s going through the same thing I am.’”
For more information on Project AWARE, click here. For more information on Youth Mental Health First Aid, click here. For more information on Adult Mental Health First Aid, click here. Finally, for more information on Teen Mental Health First Aid, click here.
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