Elevate Branson to offer Mental Health First Aid training

By CINDY THOMAS, Staff Writer

Elevate Branson invites the community to attend Mental Health First Aid Training to be held Tuesday, August 9, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This FREE training will be held at the Elevate Branson campus, 310 Gretna Rd. in Branson.

Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training program designed to teach participants to recognize signs of substance abuse or mental health disorders in their colleagues, family members, and friends, and learn skills to provide support, greatly increasing their confidence level and the likelihood of positive intervention.

Most people are aware that the increased isolation and financial burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as grief due to losing loved ones or being unable to visit the elderly or sick, contributed to poor mental health. However, many people are not aware of the tremendous impact of mental health disorders even during more “normal” circumstances. Some studies show as many as one in five adults are affected by some type of mental health issue during any given year, with profound effects not only on personal lives but also in the workplace, affecting an employee’s ability to perform physical and cognitive tasks as well as resulting in higher costs due to absenteeism, turnover and healthcare.

The August 9 training will be provided by Springfield-based Community Partnership of the Ozarks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building stronger neighborhoods and equipping people to care and look out for one another. There will be one-hour break for lunch on your own.

“Our goal with this training is to see people better equipped to love their neighbors well,” said Hannah Witcher with Elevate Branson’s Elevate Health. Although the training is free, those wanting to participate should sign up by August 5 in order to complete a twohour online portion of the training. This must be completed prior to the in-person session in order to receive the completion certificate. To sign up, email Hannah.Witcher@ElevateBranson.org or call 417-239-7818. Upon signing up, registrants will receive information for accessing the online training segment.

Learn more about Elevate Branson, including other upcoming events and opportunities to volunteer, at www.ElevateBranson.org.