CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 14 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Governor Roy Cooper allocated $5 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund in COVID-19 Relief Funds to expand Youth Mental Health First Aid training, which helps adults who work with youth identify and support kids with mental health issues. Additionally, the funding supports Teen Mental Health First Aid, which provides mental health first aid training to high school students in grades 10-12.
Layla Blufort is a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor for adults and teens.
“I realized that mental health first aid training is just as important as CPR or regular first aid training,” Brufort said.
In May, she taught Youth Mental Health First Aid to adults at the nonprofit Grace Marr Services in Charlotte.
The program aims to provide participants with the tools to support young people aged 12-18 with mental health issues through a five-step action plan.
“Our hope is that they’ll be able to recognize the signs and symptoms earlier and get young people access to treatment earlier,” Brufort said.
The training is provided under a contract with the UNC School of Social Work, which provides free training in schools and youth-serving organizations.
“It’s a very good thing to have that knowledge to better assist the people you work with,” KJ Smith of Grace Marr Services said on the day of the training.
Brufort said her own daughter also struggled with mental health issues during her time in high school.
“I didn’t notice the signs and then one day I got a call from school saying she was thinking of trying to kill herself. I was trained in youth mental health support so I was able to support her on her journey,” Ms Brufort said.
Though her daughter’s condition improved, the experience underscored just how important the training was to Blue Fort.
“It was hard to get a call that my daughter wanted to kill herself. It would have been even harder for me if I had known she had done so but I didn’t have the skills, I didn’t know what to do, how to help her,” Blufort said.
Asheville City Schools, Wake County Public School System and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are some of the school districts that have received Youth Mental Health First Aid training.
More than 1,500 adults and 36 young people have been trained so far, according to the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, which plans to extend the program through June 2025.
State funding will cover the cost of class materials, instructors and electronic gift cards participants will receive.
