Our Mental Health Disaster Fund will provide support, mentoring and training to key residents of Asheville in the immediate weeks and months following Hurricane Helene. Our plan ensures quick, high impact, people-oriented mental health first aid skill building and use, both preventing the worsening of mental health challenges and protecting the well-being of residents. We rely on immediate donations to help fund certification of mental health first aid to local community leaders who are well positioned and willing to be necessary resources for the greater community of Asheville in this time of need.
These community leaders will also receive MHFA for themselves, as well a 8 sustainment sessions to ensure the success of the program. These leaders will commit to using MHFA when indicated, guiding and supporting individuals and groups through the emotional landscape that results from collective traumas such as Helene.
What is MHFA?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an 8 hour educational certification that teaches people how to recognize the symptoms and signs of mental health challenges, provide fact informed guidance and hope, and walk people through self-support strategies that bolster, or stabilize, emotional wellbeing.
Free Leadership. Org uses a nationally recognized, standardized curriculum, including it within our approach to bolster high-impact leadership and social capital building skills.
Our Goals:
We will certify at least 20 grassroots leaders in organizations and neighborhoods in MHFA
This Includes:
- MFHA Certification
- at least 2 sessions receiving MHFA themselves, facilitated by existing certified practitioners
- 8 sustainment mentoring sessions over the next 3 months.
Newly certified practitioners will be responsible for facilitating at least 6 MHFA sessions with individuals in their local region or throughout Asheville over the next 3 months.
If we meet our funding goal, we will additionally be able to provide 25 Asheville residents 4 free mental health support sessions by the end of 2024.
Our Network Effect
20 community leaders trained and actively supporting their community
120 residents will be directly supported by a community leader
25 additional residents offered 1:1 support from our certified practitioners
165 people directly supported and empowered
Each one of these individuals touch 25-50 lives in their community
Our potential reach = 3,300-8,250 lives we can positively impact with knowledge and resources that will continue to support and spread organically
Donation Suggestions
$500 supports 1 out of the 20 scholarships
$50 supports materials for the program
$20 supports our shared belief that friendship is medicine
We only need
100 people to give $100
Or
200 people to give $50
Or
500 to give $20
Please share this with others you know. Together we create the difference.