Employees of the Vernon Area Public Library, located in Lincolnshire, received mental health first aid training this fall, with library officials saying it was part of the library’s effort to “continually improve service to those who walk through our doors.”
“It’s very likely that library employees will eventually interact with someone experiencing a mental health concern while at work,” Mikki Johnson, head of human resources for Vernon Area
Library spokeswoman Catherine Savage told Pioneer Press in an email that a mandatory all-day training and team-building session is conducted with all employees twice a year and that training topics at those in-service days vary from year-to-year but are always information that staff can use professionally.
“After each training day, we survey employees for feedback and suggestions for future training topics. In a past survey, library employees identified mental health as a topic they wanted to learn more about and improve our services around,” Savage stated in the email.
According to Savage, the mental health first aid course is an eight-hourlong, discrete training package.
“We closed for the first half of the course. The second half of the course was completed during a training session of the employee’s choice. We offered a variety of days and times for those sessions so that employees could complete the training during their regular work week,” Savage stated in the email.
Mental health first aid training prepares participants to provide initial help to people experiencing problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance use disorders, the release states.
“Just as CPR makes it possible to provide help to a person in a physical crisis, Mental Health First Aid helps us assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis,” Savage stated in the email.
Employees completed the first four hours of training during the library’s fall all-staff training day on Sept. 29 and the second half of the course during small-group sessions in October, the release states.
“Over the course of eight hours, participants learn about risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and noncrisis situations, and how to refer a person to trained professionals for additional help,” Savage stated in the email.
Eighty-two of the library’s 85 employees, or 97%, completed the course and received Mental Health First Aid, or MHFA, certification from the National Council for Behavioral Health, the release states.
“Participants learn to listen non-judgmentally, provide reassurance and information, and encourage appropriate professional help,” Savage stated in the email.
She explained that there was no cost to the library or employees for the training because it is paid for through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Officials noted in the release that MHFA certification is valid for three years.
“A key point of the training is the idea that mental health challenges are temporary. Mental Health First Aid is about helping them get past the crisis point,” Savage stated in the email.
The course was provided through the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center by instructors Charla Waxman and Jenny Morales, and coordinator Phillip DeRuntz, the release states.
“We would love to see our work on this topic inspire other public service organizations to pursue this training as well,” Savage stated in the email.
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According to statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 American adults will have experienced a mental health illness this year, the release states. Further, more than 50% of people will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime.
“Mental Health First Aid training prepares us to respond in a thoughtful, compassionate and safe manner,” Johnson stated in the release.
“The knowledge staff gained from the Mental Health First Aid course exhibits our values of lifelong learning and striving to continually improve service to those who walk through our doors,” Anne Rasmussen, executive director of Vernon Area Public Library, stated in the release.
Vernon Area Public Library serves the more than 42,222 residents within a 29-square-mile area, including the towns of Lincolnshire and Prairie View, and parts of Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Riverwoods, Vernon Hills and unincorporated Vernon and Ela townships.