1570 Local Community Members Trained in Mental Health First Aid

REGIONAL HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENDA PROFILE

More than 1500 community members in the CMF Service Area have been trained in Mental Health First Aid, an 8 hour course that teaches how to assess and provide initial assistance to individuals experiencing a mental health issue. Since 2013, Community Memorial Foundation and its partners (Rotary Club of La Grange, DuPage Community Foundation, Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation and the Lyons and Proviso Township Mental Health Commissions) have funded the program locally, where it is co-coordinated by NAMI Metro Suburban and NAMI DuPage. The program highlights the Foundation’s commitment to create stigma-free communities that promote good mental and behavioral health and treat those in need — a Priority within the Regional Health and Human Services Agenda.
Mental Health First Aid was developed by the National Council for Behavioral Health. To date, more than 780,000 First Aiders have been trained in the United States (click the image above for a detailed breakdown by state).  If you would like to host a free training at your church, school, or community organization, please contact Sara Hynes at NAMI DuPage, or visit namidupage.org to register for an upcoming training.

The Cost of Achieving Outcomes

Community Memorial Foundation recently sponsored a funders’ presentation hosted by the West Suburban Philanthropic Network. Entitled  “Funding for Success: The Cost of Achieving Outcomes”, the discussion was facilitated by Unmi Song, President of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. Ms. Song impressed the importance of having meaningful conversations with grantees about how overhead and indirect costs play an important role in a program’s budget and can ultimately impact its overall success. Thirty local community leaders participated in the convening, which reinforced the Foundation’s belief that, by working together, we can have a deeper impact.