Steele High School selected for mental health pilot program

Marion L. Steele High School will participate in the expanded national teen Mental Health First Aid pilot program.

The National Council for Behavioral Health, with support from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, named Steele High as one of 35 schools nationwide to take in the program, according to a news release.

The mental health program is an in-person, evidence-based training program designed for high school students to learn about mental illnesses and addictions and how to identify and respond to a developing mental health or substance use problem among their peers.

Amherst Exempted Village Schools will partner with Lorain County Community College and the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County on the program, the release said.

Steele High’s pilot program will take place in December on the campus and continue throughout the remainder of the school year.

The school will train more than 200 students who were selected by staff, including teachers, coaches and advisors, according to the release.

“We are thrilled to introduce teen Mental Health First Aid to our community,” said Sarah Walker, director of Student Services for the district. “The program will teach high school students to recognize and respond when their friends are experiencing the early stages of a mental health or addiction problem.”

The training is the first of its kind developed for high school students in the U.S., the release said

Similar to CPR, participating students will learn a five-step action plan to help their friends who may be facing a mental health problem or crisis, such as suicide.

To ensure additional support for students who take the training, Steele High will need to get 10 percent of its staff trained in Mental Health First Aid, according to the release.

About 20 staff members will be trained in October at LCCC.

The program originated in Australia and was adapted by The National Council with support from Born This Way Foundation and Well Being Trust, the release said.

The pilot program is being evaluated by researchers from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health to assess its effectiveness.

The training will be made available to the public following analysis of the pilot study, according to the release.

“With teen Mental Health First Aid, we like to say, it’s okay to not be okay,” said Lady Gaga, co-founder of Born This Way Foundation, as she spoke with 16 students who completed the first pilot program in eight schools across the country. “Together, Born This Way and the National Council have put this program in eight schools.

“I know for certain that I’m not stopping here. I want the teen Mental Health First Aid program in every school in this country.”