WHAT TO DO FOR A YOUTH IN CRISIS?

Last Monday twenty-four individuals learned specifically what to do. They learned how to: recognize a mental health crisis in young people, select and provide interventions for initial help, and connect the them to the care they need.

For the first time, the Cedar Key Library was the site of a workshop designed to aid youths from ages 12 to 18 experiencing mental health challenges or crises. Last Monday`s workshop was designed for adults and older adolescents who regularly interact with youths. At the gathering were police, public safety employees, students, parents, Healthy Start representatives, a city commissioner, and others to total 24 individuals. These participants paid a fee to cover materials and books. A generous community supporter provided a lunch for the group.

First on the agenda were the warning signs and risk factors likely to accompany youth`s mental health challenges; anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and disruptive behaviors cite but a few. Participants learned a five-step plan designed to support a troubled adolescent.

After spending the morning interacting in the seminar, one participant told the Cedar Key News reporter,"I love it. I feel more enlightened now." Cedar Key resident and Levy County Health Department Healy Start staff member Star Pope remarked, "This training is much needed learning for our community. The strategies we are leaning in this workshop need to start at home. Our community has many needs." Another participant stated, "I see these warning signs every day in my job and often at home in my town; I`m grateful to know more about how to handle them."

The workshop was presented by the not-for-profit Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.`s Joe Munson, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC. Dr. Munson, who as a nineteen-year-old volunteered at a crisis center and found it meaningful, never left the field of public mental health. His mission is to progressively build "community gatekeepers" who with the skills learned at workshops like today "will keep communities healthier and safer."

Commissioner Colson, who saw the need for this program after the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2013, hopes to have another workshop soon that will cover similar problems involving adults.

Presenter Dr. Joe Munson and Workshop Participant Chloe Reynolds