Many people take a first aid class that teaches how to tend to physical health illnesses and injuries. But how do you help someone who is struggling with their mental health?

Mental Health First Aid is a training that, much like physical first aid, allows a layperson to help someone through a mental health crisis until professional help arrives. After teaching the class some 50 times since 2021, Kristi Stites, MDVA Veteran Suicide Prevention and Program Development Coordinator, believes the class makes a difference.

“You learn that you don’t have to have all the answers, but just be present and care,” she says. “The training also gives you the confidence to ask questions if someone is struggling.”

MDVA is committed to investing in both our Veterans and the communities where they live and serve. "A healthy community is a suicide-safe community," explains Rachel Johnson, MDVA Veterans Community Health Director. Offering the free Mental Health First Aid MHFA course certification each month is one way MDVA contributes to the wellbeing of our state and Veterans.

The class is offered virtually from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and requires two hours of pre-work. Class participants come from all walks of life, from students to retirees, from State of Minnesota employees to a variety of organizations.

Stites stresses that everyone in the community can help another; we just need to know what to look for and how to respond. The class teaches how to normalize conversations about mental health and be aware of our own attitudes.

Some class participants may have had a personal experience with a loved one who attempted or who died by suicide. These survivors offer a unique perspective to others as everyone learns from one another, starting a ripple effect in the community. Stites notes that it is a heavy topic, but she includes information on self-care and resilience in the class. “Self-care is not taught but learned as a child, so we must practice it,” she says.

There is no educational nor occupational requirement to take the class; everyone is welcome. Stites teaches the virtual class one Wednesday per month and is also available to teach groups at their locations.

For more information, visit /mdva/news/events/index.jspMinnesotaVeteran.org/Events or contact Stites at Kristi.stites@state.mn.us.