Community and Family Resources is now providing free mental health first aid training.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness along with the Iowa Department of Public Health, over 600,000 Iowa residents, 20 percent of the population, experiences signs and symptoms of mental illness every year. Only 41 percent of that population routinely receives appropriate services.

Stigma, in the form of stereotypes and prejudice, often discourages others to seek assistance, and according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, half of all persons will experience diagnosable signs and symptoms of a mental health issue at least once in their lifetime.

Suicide can correlate to poor mental health that has been unchecked. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 451 Iowans died by suicide in 2018. That is a 60 percent increase since 2000 and a rate that has doubled over the past decade.

Substance use can co-occur with mental illness, worsening a disorder’s signs and symptoms and increasing the risk of self-harm and suicide.

The shortage of professional mental health services, nationally and statewide, led Community and Family Resources to provide free mental health first aid trainings, according to a press release. These trainings are by request in its service areas of Boone, Calhoun, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Story, Webster and Wright counties.

Trainings offer evidence-based strategies on how to recognize, reach out and refer to appropriate services for any youth or adults who exhibit signs and symptoms of a mental health concern or a behavioral health crisis.

Participants must be 18 years old and be employed as, work with or be related to first-responders; educators, including all levels of public and private; both active-duty military and veterans; older adult care-takers; and employees faith-based organizations.

Trainings are delivered either as a one-day, eight-hour option or as a two-day, four-hour option. Additional options are available upon request and are required to have between five to 30 participants. Those who become certified Mental Health First Aiders will also be encouraged to track interventions they initiate via brief quarterly surveys online.

Community and Family Resources has been a free-standing comprehensive substance abuse provider dedicated to serving families since 1968. Comprehensive Prevention Services began in 1982, and services for problem gambling began in 1997.

The agency has been licensed by the State of Iowa to provide Substance Abuse Services since 1978. Counties currently served by Community and Family Resources include Boone, Calhoun, Franklin, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Story, Webster and Wright.

Since 2011, Community and Family Resources has been an accredited Mental Health Service Provider by the Division of Mental Health and Disability Services under the Iowa Department of Human Services.

In 2018, Community and Family Resources earned a three-year accreditation from an international accrediting body for its crisis stabilization, detoxification/withdrawal management, residential treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and outpatient treatment programs.

In Fiscal Year 2019, Community and Family Resources offered prevention services to schools, businesses and community groups, reaching over 8,000 individuals, according to a press release. Community and Family Resources offered treatment services to 2,684 individuals, receiving a 99 percent satisfaction rate.

In June, Community and Family Resources constructed and relocated to a new comprehensive treatment center in Fort Dodge to continue providing adult and adolescent services to its region.

For information on Community and Family Resource’s services, visit the organization’s website or call 515-576-7261. Questions about local trainings can be sent to Community and Family Resources Prevention Specialist Todd Anderson at [email protected].