Youth Mental Health First Aid training for adult scout leaders via the SHINE Initiative

[RememberSchiff]

http://news.morningstar.com/all/mark...g-program.aspx

 

"Nashua Valley Council and The SHINE Initiative, a nonprofit that works to promote mental illness in children and teens as a mainstream health issue, teamed up to create the trailblazing initiative. Nashua Valley Council scout leaders will be trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid, an international evidence-based program. The program will be made available to Boy Scout councils later this year and then offered to Girl Scout groups across Massachusetts, Ed Manzi, chairman & CEO of Fidelity Bank, said. There are an estimated 51,000 boys and 60,000 girls enrolled in Scouting programs in Massachusetts.

 

"This program will result in Scout leaders being better able to identify, relate to, and help a young person who is living with a mental illness," he said.Paul Richard, The SHINE Initiative executive director, said the training will give Scout leaders information they need to identify signs of possible mental illness. "They're going to be able to assess and listen to someone in crisis," he said.

 

Manzi, chairman of The SHINE Initiative, added: "This is a powerful step toward achieving the much-talked-about but seldom-achieved parity between mental health and physical health issues in a grass-roots way. It has the potential to change thousands of lives for the better over the years."

 

The crisis in youth mental health spurred the creation of The SHINE Initiative in 2004. Manzi said 50 percent of lifetime cases of chronic mental illness begin by age 14, and more than two-thirds of young people living with mental illness are not receiving treatment."

[AZMike]

Nice.

[JoeBob]

 

Manzi, chairman of The SHINE Initiative, added: "This is a powerful step toward achieving the much-talked-about but seldom-achieved parity between mental health and physical health issues in a grass-roots way.

 

Parity?

 

"I've nicked an artery and am in danger of bleeding out!" (If you can't stop the bleeding or get me to hospital in the next 3 hours.)

 

Deserves to be on pare with:

 

"My feelings are hurt." (Johnny said I was horizontally challenged, but he really means I'm fat and it's not my fault that Snickers bars will melt in my pack if I don't eat them first...)

 

 

Are we now in danger of being sued for failing to practice correct Mental Health First Aid ?

[walk in the woods]

"I've nicked an artery and am in danger of bleeding out!" (If you can't stop the bleeding or get me to hospital in the next 3 hours.)

 

Deserves to be on pare with:

 

"My feelings are hurt." (Johnny said I was horizontally challenged, but he really means I'm fat and it's not my fault that Snickers bars will melt in my pack if I don't eat them first...)

No, but I don't believe that's what they are suggesting. Rather, I suspect the initiative is suggesting something like the following is on par:

 

"I'm tired." (I'm incredibly sad and depressed, it's a struggle to get up and get going every day and to put on the show. I'll probably commit suicide in the next 3 weeks if I don't get help.)"

 

At some level we've been doing this for years, no? I'd argue that counseling a homesick scout is a form of mental health first aid, maybe akin to treating a scape or sunburn if we want to extend the analogy.

[RememberSchiff]

I have not attended any of their programs but I am somewhat skeptical of their approach. Their website http://www.shineinitiative.org is strong on flash but weak on substance. Not interested in raising awareness (code for donations) of the obvious, I need some pointers in working with spectrum kids, kids with anxiety disorders,... Better yet, it would be very helpful if some specialists could drop in at summer camp or another activity, see the situations, show me and others some techniques, and give specific advice.

 

JoeBob, I thought "parity" was ironic as many councils around here have not held or required "physical" first aid training for adult leaders.

 

Still it's a start.

[MattR]

I'm guessing more poeple die from suicide than arterial bleeding. My friend's daughter committed suicide. It was/still is tragic. What they learned after the fact is shocking. Definitely mental illness. I'm not sure what would help scouters but the idea is reasonable.

[Twocubdad]

Exhaustion, not sleeping, bouts of uneasiness, anger, frustration and/or crying .... shoot, that describes about 90% of the kids at summer camp.

 

This sounds like a great Roundtable presentation but I don't see spending a day of training with it.

[JoeBob]

Sorry. I admit to making my first post glaringly insensitive.

 

But in reading your comments, I've become more uneasy with this concept.

 

If one of our boys commits suicide and had previously experienced anything negative related to scouting, are we gonna be liable?

Failed to advance, last in a competition, hurtful words, teased, bullied; etc. Parents are going to accept no responsibility and look for someone else to blame. Lawyers will look for money. BSA has deep pockets and a history of settling. Troop and scoutmaster are going to be named co-defendants.

 

What's THAT going to cost?

 

After the first lawsuit, how much challenge are you going to be willing to put into your program?

[MattR]

Good samaritan rules?

 

I can't imagine a day of training for that. That would create more problems than it would solve. Imagine what the helicopter parents would do with this info