Healthy Harford has received a $5,000 grant from the Friends R Family Foundation to promote suicide prevention in Harford County.
In partnership with University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH), Harford County Government and Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Healthy Harford hosts eight-hour Mental Health First Aid training courses throughout the county. The grant from Friends R Family Foundation will be used to train an additional 330 people in suicide prevention in the coming year.
Mental Health First Aid training is an evidence-based national program that teaches people how to help someone who is struggling with a behavioral health issue such as mental illness and substance use disorders. It is a five-step action plan designed to offer initial help to people with the signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in a crisis, and connect them with the appropriate support.
The program has been taught over the past four months at UM UCH in Bel Air and at UM Harford Memorial Hospital (UM HMH) in Havre de Grace. It is designed so anyone, such as caring citizens, first responders, students, teachers, leaders of faith communities and human resources professionals, can learn how to identify, understand and respond.
Thanks to the grant from the Friends R Family Foundation, Mental Health First Aid will be offered six times in 2016—February 10 at UM HMH; March 17 at UM UCH; April 19 at UM HMH; June 16 at UM UCH; September 14 at UM HMH; and November 17 at UM UCH.
“We are so grateful to the Friends R Family Foundation for helping us to provide the Mental Health First Aid training to more members of our community,” said Sharon Lipford, executive director of Healthy Harford. “Behavioral health is such an important topic today, and offering this type of training will help us save lives in Harford County.”
Healthy Harford is a nonprofit that inspires and empowers healthy people, healthy families and healthy communities. It was founded in 1993 by community leaders from the Harford County Health Department, Harford County Government and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, with the goal of making Harford County the healthiest community in Maryland.
About Healthy Harford
Healthy Harford is the Healthy Communities Initiative of Harford County. A nonprofit 501c3, Healthy Harford is a coalition of local government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and citizens dedicated to improving the health of Harford County residents.
Founded in 1993 by community leaders from the Harford County Health Department, Harford County Government and Upper Chesapeake Health, Healthy Harford’s sole vision is to make Harford County the healthiest community in Maryland.
About University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health
In December 2013, Upper Chesapeake Health became University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health. It consists of the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and the Patricia D. and M. Scot Kaufman Cancer Center in Bel Air and the University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace. The leading health care system and largest private employer in Harford County, UM Upper Chesapeake Health offers a broad range of health care services, technology and facilities to the residents of northeastern Maryland. Visit www.umuch.org for more information.