May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and to increase awareness of mental health in Darke, Miami and Shelby Counties, the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services is offering Mental Health First Aid classes to the public at no cost.

Mental Health First Aid Teaches:

• Risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns.
• Information on depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, and substance abuse.
• A 5-step action plan to help someone developing a mental health concern or in crisis.
• Available evidence-based professional, peer, and self-help resources.

Adult Mental Health First Aid is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn how to help an individual who may be experiencing a mental health crisis or concern.

Youth Mental Health First Aid reviews the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents ages 12-18. It emphasizes the importance of early intervention and covers how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge. The youth course is intended for anyone 16 years or older to learn how to help young people.

The Tri-County Board has training more than 500 individuals in Mental Health First Aid or Youth Mental Health First Aid since 2014.

Normally a $25 per person class, the 8-hour training is being offered at no cost in May. No special code is required, For more information and for links to register, go to www.tcbmds.org/mhfa. May dates and locations scheduled are:

Mental Health First Aid

• ​Monday May 7, Troy
• Thursday May 24, Sidney

Youth Mental Health First Aid

• Wednesday May 2, Sidney
• Thursday May 17, Sidney
• Tuesday May 29, Troy

To arrange Mental Health First Aid training for groups or organizations, contact Ian Ridgeway, Prevention and Wellness Coordinator, RidgewayI@tcbmds.org, or call (937) 335-7727 ext 216.

The first 4th of July Free the Mind/Anchor the Soul 5K Walk/Run will raise awareness of suicide and will benefit the Bryce Warner Scholarship Fund. According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for teens and young adults aged 15-34. Stigma around suicide often prevents young people from talking about their thoughts and feelings, and can be a barrier to getting help.

The run will begin and end at Milton-Union Memorial Stadium, 225 Jefferson St., West Milton. The course includes a 1-mile loop in the woods. Check-in and race-day registration is from 8-8:45am, with the race beginning at 9.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers in several age categories: 6-14; 15-19; 20-30; 31-40; 41-50; 51-60; 61-70; and 71 and over.

The fee is $26 and includes a commemorative T-shirt. Children under 5 may accompany a parent at no cost, without a shirt. To receive a T-shirt and sparklers, register online before June 24 at www.cantstoprunningco.com. Pre-registrants can pick up race packets in advance at Can't Stop Running Co, 321 N. Main St., Piqua, OH on July 2 from 10am to 6pm or July 3 from noon to 4pm.

For race information, email Stacy Warner at m.warner1@woh.rr.com.

Residents of Miami, Darke and Shelby Counties who have lost a child or other loved one to suicide, drug overdose or other unexpected loss are invited to attend a Healing from Unexpected Loss program 9am to noon Saturday November 21 at the Upper Valley Career Center Hartzell Lecture Hall, Piqua.

The program is being sponsored by the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services in partnership with the Miami County Chapter of The Compassionate Friends, and in conjunction with International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, a program of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

"Those who have lost a loved one to suicide or drug overdose often feel a stigma," said Mark McDaniel, Executive Director of the Tri-County Board, "and especially if that loved one was a child, there's a layer of guilt. Meeting others in our local community who have experienced similar loss may lessen the feelings of guilt and stigma and help the healing process."

The Compassionate Friends is a national organization with local chapters that support families after a child dies. The Miami County Chapter meets at Nashville Church, 4540 West State Route 571, West Milton, the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:00pm.

The program will be designed with the special needs of survivors of suicide, drug overdose or unexpected loss in mind. The program includes the viewing "Family Journeys: Healing and Hope After a Suicide," a video for International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day. A panel discussion will feature survivors of loss, parents, and grief counselors and the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions. There will also be a healing activity and a remembrance/healing ceremony.

While not required, those interested are encouraged to pre-register at www.survivorday.org/event/troy-oh. By registering families have the opportunity to upload a photo of their loved one along with a message for inclusion in a virtual memorial quilt.

There is no cost to attend. For more information, email Brad Reed, ReedB@tcbmds.org.

Williams was a superstar on television, film and stage. And as such, his death will dominate the news cycle for a day or two. But the conversations about suicide and mental illness and drug and alcohol addictions cannot go away. There will be celebrations and remembrances of Robin Williams the actor, the Hollywood persona so much bigger than life. But what about Robin Williams, the man? The person who, despite having every material resource at hand, could not defeat his demons, his addictions to alcohol and drugs, and the disorders of the mind that led him to his final act?

We are told that one in four people will suffer from some diagnosable mental illness. We are told that 90 percent of persons who complete suicide have some form of mental illness. We are told that those with serious mental illness have life expectancy 10 years less than average. The tide is turning on conversations and stigma about mental illness, but too slowly. Fear and denial keep too many from seeking help. There are still ignorant haters with popular soapboxes, perpetuating myths about mental illness and suicide.

Celebrity deaths, whether from mental illness, addictions, or recklessness, are always a double-edged sword with young people. On the one hand, there is a fear that young people will be more likely to follow their tragic idols. On the other, it opens a door to conversations. If there could be such a thing as a best-case scenario with a celebrity suicide, Robin Williams' may be it. He is famous enough, has been around long enough, and has appealed to generations of kids enough that anyone older than 7 is going to recognize his face, voice or characters. On the other hand, he is not the kind of celebrity whom young people will like likely emulate or idolize. Robin Williams is not Kurt Cobain.

Just as with so-called "physical" illnesses, not all mental illnesses are deadly, but some are. Mental health counselors identify three mental illnesses that are potentially deadly: addiction, eating disorders and depression. However, people are generally more comfortable talking about diabetes, heart disease, even cancer, than about mental illnesses. Any opportunity to make mental illnesses less dark, less mysterious, to shed light on these all-too-common afflictions, is an opportunity for teaching and, in some cases, early identification and intervention.

So, what's a parent to do when a child says "Mrs. Doubtfire is dead" or "Peter Pan killed himself"? There's no one, best answer. Understand that children are by nature both curious and resilient. Answering the question to the best of your ability is OK; deflecting or ignoring it drives the subject further into the darkness, where it can take on all sorts of misunderstanding.  This Mom wrote about how she talked with her kids, relating to his characters and other family experience. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers a few tips for talking to kids about suicide. SAVE.org offers more help. The Jason Foundation website has information for teens, parents and schools.

Many families find comfort in speaking to pastors or other faith-based counselors. Your school may have a counselor you can speak to. The mental health agencies in the Tri-County network of care employ counselors who specialize in youth and family. NAMI of Darke, Miami and Shelby Counties has upcoming classes you may find useful. For someone in crisis, the Tri-County Hotline is open 24 hours a day at 800-351-7347, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-TALK (8255).

Every suicide is a tragedy. Celebrity amplifies the tragedy, and when the celebrity is someone with the multi-generational reach and appeal of Robin Williams, someone whose voice will continue to be heard through the timeless characters of his films, the loss is proportionally deep. If his illness and death create opportunities for a deeper understanding of mental disorders, then that is the solace we can take from it.

Teachers and school employees in Darke, Miami and Shelby counties will have the opportunity to win money for their schools while learning how to spot the warning signs of suicide in young people, thanks to a $1,000 grant secured by the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services.

The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation awarded the grant as part of Ohio’s Campaign for Hope – Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative. These funds are made available through a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as part of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program. The funding is to be used to promote the Kognito At-Risk Interactive Online Gatekeeper Training for Middle and High School Educators and Staff.

The Tri-County Board is developing a promotional program that includes incentives for schools to complete the Kognito training, which is an online, interactive scenario-based suicide awareness training program. The incentive program will be rolled out to the schools in early 2014, according to Brad Reed, Tri-County Board Director of Community Resource Development. There is no cost to the schools for accessing the Kognito training.

In December 2012 the Ohio General Assembly passed and Governor John Kasich signed into law HB 543, the “Jason Flatt Act,” which requires school teachers, administrators and certain staff to be trained in suicide awareness. According to the Jason Foundation, suicide is the second most common cause of death among middle school and high school aged youth.

For more information about suicide prevention, please contact the Tri-County Board at its offices in Troy.