BOISE - Do you know how to tell if someone is having a mental health crisis?
Knowing the warning signs could be lifesaving.
"It's the ability to be able to walk away with more empathy and understanding and to be a resource for somebody who is having a hard time,” said Shannon Decker, executive director for the Speedy Foundation.
That’s the focus of a series of mental health first aid trainings in Boise over the next few weeks.
"One attendee came back from yesterday's training and said she didn't know as much as she thought that she knew," Decker said.
The focus of these 8-hour trainings is to give people a 5-step action plan that includes the skills, resources and knowledge to recognize if someone needs help and how to get them help.
"To be able to see the signs, to find the words and to reach out,” Decker said. “You're not necessarily going to be the person to fix all of the problems, you're going to be able to refer them to the appropriate professional help."
Certain trainings also focus on youth.
"It’s never an easy conversation to have with your kid,” said Carolyn Carter, a school resource officer in Elmore County. “Our goal in the entire training is to make that conversation as simple and as productive as possible."
Carter said she sees the need for this type of education.
"When kids have symptoms of a mental illness or they're struggling with thoughts of suicide they don't feel comfortable going to their parents,” she said. “And maybe if they do, they don't know how to vocalize that."
Carter said, ultimately, knowledge regarding mental health first aid should be as common as CPR and other first aid measures.
"By opening up this conversation, normalizing the conversation in general, we've been able to help walk kids through these issues as they go along,” she said. “Instead of maintaining that it's a stigma and leaving these kids to basically fend for themselves."
You can find more information about the mental health first aid training here. When signing up for a class, enter promo code KTVB to receive $25 off the $45 registration fee.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide or needs someone to talk to call or text the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline at (208) 398-4357.