Support for mental health and wellbeing on campus is expanding. As part of a major UNC System initiative announced earlier this Fall NC State is joining a statewide effort to train 10,000 students, staff, and faculty in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), a training program that empowers individuals in the community to recognize and address mental health and substance use challenges and crises.
“Just like with physical first aid, people trained in Mental Health First Aid have the opportunity to save a life,” Shannon Dupree, Director of Wellness at University Wellness and
Recreation explains in a recent NC State news story on NC State’s rollout of initiative. The program, which has already trained millions of people across the US, trains participants to recognize common signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges, interact with and provide assistance to someone who is in crisis, and connect them to resources for help. With 1 in 5 adults experiencing mental illness in any given year, every person who completes the training can make a huge positive impact. “Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis” according to the MHFA website.
Here at the CVM, Sheri Renno, Assistant Dean, CVM Human Resources and Julia Rice, Director of Wellbeing were among the first cohort of 16 faculty 
and staff at NC State to complete instructor certification to train others in MHFA. A second cohort of 9 faculty and staff followed, resulting in a total of 25 certified MHFA Instructors on NC State’s campus. The NC State instructor cohort is collaborating on the roll-out, and training dates are being offered as early as December 2021. NC State staff, faculty, students, and house officers can complete MHFA training free of charge, as a part of the UNC System Initiative.
Everyone can play a role in supporting mental health. The MHFA initiative at NC State aims to break down barriers for getting help, and in so doing, reduce stigma around mental illness.
MHFA Course offerings at the CVM will be announced at a later date. Those interested can read more about the initiative and its rollout at NC State, or reach out to Sheri Renno and Julia Rice (sarenno@ncsu.edu and jcrice3@ncsu.edu) for questions.