First Responders need better tools to engage with people dealing with mental health issues, your donation helps provide Mental Health First Aid Training at NO COST for local First Responders to enhance skills needed to deescalate situations and reach out to provide support for someone dealing with mental health issues while helping them to connect with appropriate care.

Currently, more than 100,000 First Responders and public safety professionals have taken the original MHFA training course and so many lives of our ocal heroes are at risk.

Today, researchers say 1 in 4 adults has a mental disorder. But while many Americans are trained in traditional first aid and CPR to respond to medical emergencies, few including first responders are prepared to help others experiencing a mental health crisis. 

This course also represents an important first step towards recognizing potential internal challenges among first responders who face unique challenges due to workplace volatility. First Responders, including policemen and firefighters, are more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty, according to the Ruderman Family Foundation.

According to Blue H.E.L.P. a nonprofit run by active and retired police officers, at least 159 officers took their own lives in 2018, the same number of suicides tracked in 2017 and 19 more than in 2016.  Exposure to trauma, horrific accidents and shootings are leading to mental health struggles that often get untreated.

The rate of PTSD and depression for police and firefighters is five times higher than the civilian population.  And less than 10 percent of U.S. departments have suicide prevention programs. This is why are asking you today to do what oyu can to help provide the needed resources to make a positive difference in the life of a First Responder.