Making MHFA Available Communities in Need

Mental health and substance use challenges are more common than heart disease and cancers combined, with SAMHSA reporting that one in five people in the US experience a mental illness in any given year. In Maryland, that translates to 1.2 million people.

However, accessing behavioral health care is still very challenging for a lot of people due to inadequate funding and coverage for these services and powerful stigma surrounding behavioral health conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these conditions, making Marylanders’ mental health needs greater than ever.

Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based national certification program that teaches people how to recognize and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges. The program promotes early intervention to prevent greater behavioral health challenges and crises. It is culturally adaptive and promotes people from within their own communities supporting each other through a train-the-trainer model.

Over 60,000 people in Maryland have been trained since the program came to Maryland in 2008. Through the long-standing support of the Maryland Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Administration, Anne Arundel County’s Mental Health Authority, and Behavioral Health System Baltimore, MHAMD trains thousands more people each year. With this generous funding, MHAMD can offer these trainings for free or reduced cost to communities with high needs. Special emphasis has been given to people working in crisis response, public safety, and youth-serving organizations.