Bill Text: HI SCR68 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mental Health First Aid; Training and Education

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-13 - Referred to HTH, WAM. [SCR68 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-SCR68-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	68
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of health to promote mental health first aid training throughout the state.

 

 

     WHEREAS, according to certain studies, one in five Americans are diagnosed with a mental illness; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals with mental illness are often reluctant to get help or do not know where to turn for care; and

 

     WHEREAS, the symptoms of mental illness can be difficult to detect, even for friends and family who may know something is amiss but do not know how to intervene; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals who need mental health services often do not receive timely services; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health first aid is a public education program that can help the community understand mental illness, support timely intervention, and save lives; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health first aid training is an in-person, eight-hour training that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns, builds understanding of the impact of mental health issues, and overviews common treatments; and

 

     WHEREAS, participants in the training learn a five-step action plan to help individuals developing a mental health problem or someone in crisis connect with professional, peer, social, and self-help care; and

 

     WHEREAS, the action plan learned in mental health first aid training can be applied in many situations including when someone is experiencing a panic attack, suicidal thoughts or behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, acute psychosis, overdose or withdrawal from alcohol or drug use, or reaction to a traumatic event; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health first aid teaches about recovery and resiliency, instilling in participants that individuals who experience mental health challenges can and do get better and use their strengths to stay well; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health first aid training offers concrete tools for helping individuals with mental illness, connects individuals to resources, and uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a crisis, select an intervention, and provide initial help; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to promote mental health first aid training throughout the State within the next two years; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that mental health first aid training be offered to:

 

     (1)  Health, human services, and social workers;

 

     (2)  Employers and business leaders;

 

     (3)  Faith community leaders;

 

     (4)  College and university staff and faculty;

 

     (5)  Law enforcement and public safety officials;

 

     (6)  Veterans and their family members;

 

     (7)  Persons with mental illness or addiction and their families; and

 

     (8)  Other caring citizens; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the community recognize its role in helping people who experience mental illness get necessary services by learning about the signs and symptoms of mental illness; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health consider the importance of youth mental health first aid to discuss the specific mental health challenges that youth struggle with as well as mental health first aid training on all islands and in rural communities due to the chronic shortage of behavioral health providers and limited access to services in rural areas; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Health is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on the impact of mental health first aid training no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Mental Health First Aid; Training and Education