New Jamestown Public Schools teachers had the opportunity to take Youth Mental Health First Aid during New Teacher Orientation. Karan Foti, a clinician through Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene and Victoria Patti, Community Engagement Coordinator & Training Specialist for Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, provided the training and are both certified Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructors.

“I met with JPS Superintendent Apthorpe about the trainings that Chautauqua Tapestry and Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene can offer,” said Patti. “He recommended I meet with Michelle McDowell, JPS Chief Academic Officer, to arrange training for all new teachers who come into JPS. It is important to have this training as students spend so much time in school and teachers can have such a tremendous impact on their well-being, as well as social and emotional development by being that caring adult that young people can rely and trust. Anyone can use this curriculum to brush up on skills, learn about adolescent development, understand how to react in a crisis, and learn about the misconceptions about suicide and how to ask the question directly, ‘Are you thinking of suicide?'”

Youth Mental Health First Aid is an eight-hour course. The new JPS teachers received the first four hours. The second part of the training will occur during the school year. Betty Kitchener, a nurse specializing in health education, and Tony Jorm, a respected mental health literacy professor, created Mental Health First Aid in 2001. Mental Health First Aid teaches people to recognize the warning signs for social-emotional distress and that it’s “ok” to talk about it to reduce the stigma.

The Youth Mental Health First Aid training covers how to respond to crisis and non-crisis situations when working with young people ages 12-18. Patti and Foti teach ALGEE which stands for: “Assess for suicide risk or harm, Listen non-judgmentally, Give reassurance and Information, Encourage appropriate professional help, and Encourage self-help and other support strategies.” ALGEE helps Youth Mental Health First aiders remember what to do when they are in a helping role. The training also talks about adolescent development and how that influences mental health, coping strategies, resilience and how to know whether a young person is experiencing typical adolescent development or, if behaviors or emotions are something to be concerned about and when to ask more questions. The second half of the training will dive into responding to crisis situations, understanding suicide risk and warning signs, and how to ask about suicide directly while remaining non-judgmental and supportive. The trainers will also discuss the importance of self-care for helpers. Participants receive local resources to provide assistance when working with JPS students.

In addition to the JPS new teacher training, Jamestown High School trained 25 staff members and 40 students last year in Youth Mental Health First Aid and plans to train at least an additional 25 staff members and 40 students this year through the Mental Health Association with the support of Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene and Chautauqua Tapestry. JHS’ goal is to have 20 percent of the JHS student body trained, and all staff, according to JHS Principal Mike McElrath.