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City of Maple Valley offers community training to aid in youth mental health crisis
King County Council approved a proposal to allocate $5 million in mental illness and drug dependency funds to help manage the deepening mental health crisis affecting youth, especially when it comes to self-harm.
MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. - King County Council approved a proposal to allocate $5 million in Mental Illness and Drug Dependency funds to help manage the deepening mental health crisis affecting youth, especially when it comes to self-harm.
There is a nationwide shortage of professional help to address the youth mental health crisis. It’s one reason why the City of Maple Valley is investing in training to empower and educate community members to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance abuse challenges.
"This touches all of us. So, we want to empower our community to have tools and resources to be able to support people who are struggling right now," said Greta Huntley, the Community Resource coordinator for the City of Maple Valley.
The city partners with National Council for Mental Wellbeing, a nonprofit offering Mental Health First Aid training to community members. National trainer Michele Pilon said addressing the youth mental health crisis starts by opening up conversation.
"That’s how we change our communities, that’s how we change our culture, that’s how we start these conversations by talking about it," said Pilon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning in 2022 on the mental health crisis in youth. The CDC reported suicide among kids between ages 10 and 19 years old rose by 45.5 percent between 2010 and 2020, and emergency room visits for self-harm increased 88 percent.
"We know that those numbers have increased. We know it’s definitely an issue. We also know people are talking about it more though. That’s the other piece of it. I think the pandemic brought the conversation to the surface in a way that wasn’t previously happening," said Pilon.
The national trainer said mental health first aid is needed now more than ever, as the number of psychiatrists is declining nationwide while the youth crisis continues rising.
"We are in a crisis situation with the amount of professional helpers that are available. We have a shortage of professional help out there. If we can strengthen our communities, if we can get everybody in our communities trained in mental health first aid –knowing how to recognize those signs and symptoms—we can catch kids early because we’ve got more eyes paying attention. We can support kids before we wind up needing professional help, before it turns into a crisis conversation," said Pilon.
Huntley said the training is available to schools, churches, local groups and others who want to support efforts in helping children. Those interested must submit a request form to schedule the training.
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"We’re very fortunate that the city and City Council really prioritizes mental health and approving funding to bring these trainings and other mental health programs into our community," said Huntley.