Community Partnership of Southern Arizona (CPSA) will host a pilot training this week for a new, veteran/military-focused version of Mental Health First Aid.

This is only the third time the training has been offered in the U.S.

Mental Health First Aid is a public-education program that helps community members understand mental illnesses and quickly link someone to mental-health services when needed. Trainers from the Arizona National Guard Total Force Team and the Arizona Coalition for Military Families will present the new training.

“This is a great complement to CPSA’s initiative for veterans and their families,” said Neal Cash, CPSA’s president/CEO, “and it’s a special honor that CPSA was chosen to be a part of this pilot.”

The training, which is full, is for service members, veterans and family members; first responders; and representatives of the military, government agencies, higher education, legal systems, social-service agencies, veterans-service organizations, faith-based groups and others who interact with military members and/or veterans.

“With the high rates of suicide among people serving in the armed forces, it’s vitally important to train their peers, friends and family members about warning signs and how to link them with help,” Cash said. “The help’s out there, but the stigma of getting it is even higher for military members than for the general public.”

Other partners in presenting the training are:

• The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
• The Arizona National Guard and its “Be Resilient” Program and
• The National Guard Bureau’s Psychological Health Program.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2013 at 11:45 am and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.