Growing the MHFA Community
We continued to grow the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) community this year. To date, 2.6+ million people from across the U.S. have taken MHFA and our Instructor base has grown to include 25,000+, two milestones that speak to the importance and impact of our skills-based training program. We will work to bring MHFA to more communities in 2022, while investing in the experience with new training materials and virtual offerings.
Taking tMHFA Nationwide
To help teens recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges, we launched teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA), making the training available nationally (in-person and online) for the first time. The curriculum addresses trauma, self-care, wellness and resilience, among other topics, enabling teens to be the difference for themselves, their peers and others in their community. To date, we have brought tMHFA to 600+ schools and youth-serving organizations and trained 65,000+ young people across the country.
Going Virtual with MHFA Connect
We streamlined the MHFA community’s experience with MHFA Connect, a virtual platform that gives users the tools, resources and learning opportunities they need to thrive. Through MHFA Connect, users can manage their classes, purchase and access resources, and engage National Trainers, Instructors and First Aiders with ease, inspiring more peer-to-peer networking nationwide.
Responding to Demand with MHFA at Work
Our MHFA at Work delivery was facilitated by a fully virtual learning environment this year, allowing companies to continue engaging employees (on-site or remote) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. MHFA at Work clients increased their focus on providing mental health education and training with broad utilization across all industries and sectors, resulting in 388 MHFA at Work General Awareness and Certification Training courses completed. Ninety-eight percent of learners surveyed this year agreed they would recommend the course to a colleague.
Partnering to Empower Women through MHFA
Kate Spade New York Foundation continued its longstanding partnership with the National Council by providing complimentary Youth and Adult MHFA trainings to communities in New York City and New Jersey. These trainings were open to women and anyone who works to directly support women. In total, 1,520 new First Aiders were certified through 104 courses this year. As part of this initiative, we hosted a curated series of Mental Health Essentials webinars focused on women’s mental wellbeing. Kate Spade also donated $75,000 to provide MHFA training to New Yorkers in the arts community in 2022.