Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) has been awarded a $96,514 grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services to present innovative mental health literacy training to an estimated 600 staff from social service agencies and consumer organizations. One of seven organizations nationwide tapped to present the groundbreaking 12-hour training in 2008, C4 staff have presented Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to more than more than 60 organizations, including social service agencies, community centers, schools, hospitals, community colleges, and faith-based groups. The new state grant, renewable for an additional two years, will allow C4 to significantly expand its MHFA training, reaching an estimated two community groups each month. “We‘re ecstatic about this opportunity and grateful to the State of Illinois,” observes Viviana Ploper, C4 associate director who helped introduce MHFA to the agency. “These trainings will help our communities better respond to untreated mental illness and relieve the suffering of so many individuals and families.” MHFA helps staff members assess if clients have mental health needs, educate family members, and refer clients to treatment. Experts agree that early intervention can prevent more serious mental health problems from developing. The training also helps the general public respond to psychiatric crises until professional help arrives. The MHFA curriculum introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs for mental health or substance use problems, using experiential activities and role plays that build understanding of depression, bi-polar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and eating disorders. Besides getting people to treatment, MHFA is also designed to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health problems. Despite the fact that one in four Americans will suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem over a lifetime, only one-third will seek professional help. In the Latino, African-American and Asian neighborhoods reached by C4 and community partners, stigma is an even greater barrier. Lack of access to mental health resources also keeps people from treatment. Introduced in Australia in 2001 under the auspices of ORYGEN Research Center of the University of Melbourne, MHFA is scientifically proven to increase knowledge about mental health. The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH), the Maryland State Department of Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health introduced the training to the US in 2008. C4 has already presented MHFA to several organizations, including Uplift Middle School’s Health Center, the Asian Health Coalition of Illinois, the Center on Halsted, and Breakthrough Urban Ministries, among others. Thanks to the state grant, C4 will be able to respond to requests for the training from other community agencies. C4 has seven mental health professionals trained to present MHFA, three of whom are bilingual in Spanish. “Our goal is to make MHFA as common as CPR is now,” Ploper observes. “We’re definitely on our way.” ***** Established in 1972, C4 provides mental health services, substance use treatment, crisis services, parenting classes and sexual assault recovery services to more than 10,000 adults and children every year. For more information about MHFA or to register for a training go to www.c4chicago.org/MHFA, or contact Jessica Wheeler at jessica.wheeler@c4chicago.org or 773.765.0814.