OUZ’s CARE Team Hosts Free Youth Mental Health First Aid Course

ZANESVILLE, OH – On August 7th, Ohio University Zanesville’s CARE Team extended an opportunity to youth-serving professionals in the community.

The team offered a Youth Mental Health First Aid course at no cost, aimed at teaching strategies for interacting with individuals who may have mental health challenges. The training attracted a diverse group of participants, including school professionals, youth detention staff, and other community members dedicated to supporting youth.

“It is a community course. We opened it to initially to teachers and then broadened it. We have school professionals such as guidance counselors, school psychologists, and teachers from all grade levels. We also have a large percentage of people that are here from the local youth detention facilities and programs. We also have people here who work with youth and young adults who do have disabilities,” Teri Peasley OUZ Early Childhood/Elementary Education Program Coordinator and Member of Ohio University CARE Team said.

The course emphasized the importance of taking care of each other within the community and highlighted the necessity of having open discussions about how we feel and offering help to those in need.

“One of the things that our trainers started out with today is to think about a training like this, the same way that we take CPR. With CPR, we go in and we help, but we leave it to the professionals to do the leg work. If you’re out in the community and you’re noticing that something doesn’t seem right with someone, being able to be comfortable asking the questions, and just talking to them is huge. It makes them feel seen, heard, and valued,” Peasley said.

Looking ahead, the CARE Team will be hosting another event in November for social work and education students.