ROGERS CITY — Partners in Prevention has received a four-year Mental Health and Awareness Training Project grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

This grant will cover Crisis Intervention Training for first responders; Mental Health First Aid, and Youth Mental Health First Aid for those wanting to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, identify available resources for referrals, and safely de-escalate a crisis; and ASIST and safeTALK to recognize individuals with thoughts of suicide and connect them to life-saving resources.

It will also allow Partners in Prevention to build a Mental Health Resources webpage consisting of a comprehensive and regularly updated compilation of mental health resources in each community it serves. Partners is working with many of Presque Isle County’s community resources (Presque Isle County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Presque Isle Township Fire Department, Rogers City Police Department, Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Department, Community Mental Health, McLaren Health Care, Alcona Health Center, MyMichigan Health, Thunder Bay Community Health Service) to sign on as active community partners in this effort, with the hope that other service organizations and nonprofits will lend their support behind this effort to make Presque Isle County part of a larger mental health Crisis Response Team.

Crisis intervention training for Presque Isle County first responders will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on July 16 at The Brook. This four-hour intensive program will be Partners’ second effort in this capacity, having previously done three successful trainings in Alpena County. First responders in the neighboring three counties (Alcona, Alpena, and Montmorency) are welcome to join. The intent is to bring CIT training to and expand the website resources for all four counties. Partners is looking to expand their effort in Alcona and Montmorency counties this fall.

In addition, from 1 to 4 p.m. on July 16 at The Brook, there will be a training on situational awareness and verbal diffusion available to those in public facing positions in HR, elder care, the school system, first line of contact such as front desk, reception, and customer relation jobs. The objective of this program is to help people identify potentially distressed individuals and learn verbal diffusion techniques and conflict resolution techniques to de-escalate these encounters.

This grant will allow, over four years, Partners in Prevention to bring Crisis Intervention Training to first responders in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle counties. CIT will increase the capacity of targeted trainees to respond appropriately to persons with a mental health challenge, with hopes of de-escalating any mental health related calls increasing the safety of both those in crisis and our first responders. It will also increase awareness, reduce stigma, and assure sustainability of mental health awareness, training, and referral services post grant funding in the four-county region.

If you are interested in participating in these CIT trainings or any other trainings (ASIST, safeTALK, YMHFA, MHFA) offered by Partners in Prevention under this grant umbrella, please email programs@nemcpi.org.

Partners in Prevention in Alpena offers a valued array of training, facilitation, and support services designed to promote individual and community resilience. Partners in Prevention helps our community raise children who are safe, loved, and resilient, and helps adults increase knowledge and skills to address life’s challenges.