The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is offering free "Mental Health First Aid" training to K-12 schools around Missouri. There are 50 instructors across Missouri who are part of the program.
Amy Bartels is with Mental Health First Aid Missouri. The program started in the early 2000s in Australia but is now taught across the U.S.
"We have had an absolutely overwhelming response just over the last few months," she said of starting the work in Missouri. "I think people are looking not really for answers, but for support."
70 school districts have signed up for mental health courses for their staff and teachers.
There are two different types of training -- one for adults and one for kids. The main issue the training focuses on is how to broach the topic of suicide. Bartels said they also talk about how to notice the difference between an emerging mental health challenge versus a crisis.
The prevalence of mental illnesses like anxiety and depression has gone up nearly 25% since the pandemic began, according to the World Health Organization.
"So it really is important for people that take this training to understand that we're not going to make you a mental health professional in a day," she said.
The DESE-provided course takes a day to complete and gives people a certification for three years.
