Mental Health First Aid is an internationally recognized program and run by certified facilitators.

Mental Health First Aid is an internationally recognized program and run by certified facilitators.

THIS CLASS IS FULLY BOOKED. CONTACT US AT WAKEFIELDROTARYCLUB@YAHOO.COM TO BE ON OUR WAITLIST.

The Wakefield Rotary Club is proud to announce that it has received funding for a Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention Initiative. Thanks to a 1:1 matching grant from Rotary District 7930 and The Rotary Foundation, the initiative will provide two courses in Mental Health First Aid for Wakefield residents free of charge, instructed by certified trainers. The first course was held for two evenings, November 30th and December 2nd at the Beebe Library and is aimed at those who work with youth. The second course, on March 23, 2016, is aimed at those who work with or live with veterans.  The grant also funds attendee’s dinner at the trainings and take-home manuals. In addition, 19 resource books and texts on mental health and addiction disorders will be donated to the Beebe Library, Wakefield Veteran’s Department and the WAKE UP Coalition. Wakefield Rotary President Bob Kimball noted, “We want to highlight the correlation between mental health issues and substance use. The courses and resource books will be easily accessible to the community and we encourage the community to register for the courses early.” Rotary member Mario Portillo continued, “This is a great investment for the club because these issues affect so many people. In all, Rotary is investing over $3k towards this project.” The club would like to thank Rotary District 7930 for matching their funds and acknowledges the partnerships necessary for the success of the initiative. “We are so lucky to work with Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition, Wakefield Police, and Alicia Reddin from the Wakefield Veteran’s Department,” noted Rotary Grant Chair Amy Luckiewicz. “When we asked if they’d partner with us to make the initiative happen, the support and teamwork came quickly from each of them and it helped us be able to move forward in offering these resources quickly.” For more information on registering for the courses, please email the Rotary club at wakefieldrotaryclub@yahoo.com or click Adult MHFA March 2016 for a flyer.