Mental Health First Aid Training Offered to Older Adult Caregivers and Volunteers
Older adult caregivers, volunteers and community members crowded the room in San Mateo for the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course held in Spanish, prompting training coordinators to plan for a future training in the coming months. Thirty-four individuals (pictured above), most of whom caregivers and volunteers, were certified in Mental Health First Aid during the mid-November training. The training marked the second course in 2015 offered in collaboration with Aging and Older Adult Services to In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Registry caregivers. Also in attendance were volunteers from Peninsula Family Services.
The course was taught by BHRS staff members Hector Moncada, Supervising Mental Health Clinician, and Gloria Gutierrez, Clinician, both of whom are very active in the Latino community. Mental Health First Aid is provided by the Office of Diversity and Equity.
MHFA is a FREE 8-hour certification course that teaches community members how to recognize and appropriately respond to an individual experiencing an emotional or behavioral health challenge, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, and substance abuse. If you would like to host a training or are interested in attending, please contact Natalie Andrade at nandrade@smcgov.org
It is good to see more and more people interested on this area of need!
Great job Gloria and Hector!