Gabriella Vukman
Announced August 28, the Yarra Ranges Council is offering free mental health first aid sessions for community members and volunteers.
Branching across a range of days, the sessions are scheduled to take place at the Coop at Yarra Valley ECOSS in Wesburn, the Redwood Community Centre in Warburton and the Trek learning centre in Monbulk.
Yarra Ranges Council Community Development Officer Michael Goodrich said “our aim is to make sure this training is delivered across the whole Yarra Ranges. Upper Yarra, Waruburton, out to Chirnside Park and the whole community,”
Working together with Mental Health Australia, the program started in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. The Yarra Ranges Council was contacted regarding regional funding and a partnership with two other organisations was elicited. Sixteen courses were delivered over the course of this program in 2020 to 201 local residents and volunteers.
“The program was a success and we had some really great feedback,” Mr Goodrich said.
The program has since been remedied with sessions running for around six and a half hours. This year, the Yarra Ranges Council is partnering with twelve organisations to deliver twelve courses across the Yarra Ranges shire from now until April 2024.
‘We’ve tweaked the program a bit, in order to help community organisations deliver the training more independently,” Mr Goodrich said.
These mental health first aid sessions are free for all residents from the Upper Yarra region. People who live outside of this region but volunteer within the Upper Yarra area are also welcome to attend these sessions free of charge.
“If you think about general first aid, like St John’s, Red Cross and Salvos that help you support somebody with physical injuries, mental health first aid is geared to support those with mental health challenges,” Mr Goodrich said.
These training courses help individuals to recognise and respond to symptoms that may indicate mental health challenges. Included in the training courses are Standard MHFA, Youth MHFA, Older Person MHFA and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander MHFA.
“Recognising, responding and referring somebody helps to deal with mental health challenges,” Mr Goodrich said.
Further, via the program individuals also learn to plan and have a conversation with someone who may be struggling with mental health, as well as discover how to listen and provide a response. Recognising mental health challenges inwardly is also an important aspect of this course.
“Making sure that you are safe and that you’re looking after your own mental health is also vital,” Mr Goodrich said.
The program was initiated to develop more support for individuals who are experiencing mental health challenges. After completing this course, the individual will also be able to refer people with mental health challenges to appropriate aid when needed.
“The ‘are you okay’ conversations and others surrounding mental health can be quite challenging. It is also important that the support giver is remaining safe in those conversations too,” Mr Goodrich said.
Outlining who is responsible for this program, Mr Goodrich said “the program has been organised by myself and some of the community development team.We also have a health and well-being team officer and our goal is to continue to partner up with our local community organisations. We’re supporting these organisations to host the training.”
The course trainers are trained, specifically for these mental health aid courses and are qualified to deliver sound and safe instruction and all instructors have clinical experience. They are also undergoing training to learn how to facilitate courses in a community setting.
Mr Goodrich assured “those who run the courses are mental health first aid licensed instructors. The instructors have completed Mental Health Australia’s trainer program and are qualified psychologists and counsellors.”
Councillor Jim Child said, “we know that mental health is an increasing issue, so this initial line of response that can be provided at a community level could be crucial in identifying the need for someone who may need professional support.”
So far, the program has had a fond reception from the community.
“We’ve had some amazing stories of people who have done their training who are now able to utilise it in their personal lives,” Mr Goodrich said.
“People volunteer. They’ve noticed somebody in their lives or they’re not doing well and weren’t quite sure how to have those conversations. Training. Knowing how to plan those conversations. How to have those conversations as well and knowing then, how to refer those people on to those appropriate supports if they wish to.”
“We’re working with Mental Health Australia to ensure that we are reaching the whole community. We are also making sure we are partnered with organisations that have strong connections within the community,” Mr Goodrich said.
“Many of us experience mental health challenges at some stages throughout our lives, so it’s important to develop the capacity of our residents and volunteers to recognise these challenges,” Mr Goodrich said.
“It’s really about building the capacity of the community to support each other in mental health and in life in general.”
To register go to the Yarra Ranges Website: https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Health-and-Wellbeing/Mental-Health-First-Aid-MHFA#:~:text=FREE%20Mental%20Health%20First%20Aid%20Training%20
