Strengthen Your MHFA Skills

and Invite Others to Join You

If you would like a free, online refresher course to strengthen your listening and response skills when talking to those who may be struggling, here’s your chance. And you’ll be supporting the MHFA Collaborative at the same time!

Born This Way Foundation, in partnership with Jack.org, is now offering a new self-paced course called “Be There Certificate.” While the course was designed with teens in mind, everyone is encouraged to participate as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. The course emphasizes showing up, listening without judgment, and connecting people to help when it is needed.

If that sounds familiar, that is because it closely aligns with what you learned in your MHFA class. And if you share the link, it can be a powerful entry point for those who have not yet taken a full MHFA class but want to take a first step.

When you or the person you share this with completes the course using our referral link by May 31, the MHFA Collaborative earns a $25 incentive for each completion, up to $2,500.



While no short course can fully replace the connection, and attitude change that comes from a full MHFA class, every additional person who learns how to “Be There” for someone continues to strengthen our impact.

A New Federal Bill Introduced

for Federal Funding

For some reason, states are currently allowed to use Community Mental Health Services Block Grant for substance use prevention, but they are not allowed to use the funds for mental health prevention, even though it is the state’s largest source of mental health funding.

The bipartisan EARLY Minds Act would allow states to use up to 5% of these funds for services such as screening, outreach, peer support, and trainings like MHFA.

Please take a minute to ask your federal representatives to co-sponsor the EARLY Minds Act (introduced as H.R. 1735 in the House and S. 779 in the Senate) so community members like you can continue to be trained to help provide earlier identification, timely support, and reduce severity of mental health.

The step-by-step directions are found here.

Thank you for helping programs like MHFA continue to exist in the US!

That gap is where MHFAiders can make a difference so please know that every conversation you start, every person you support, and every time you choose empathy over assumptions helps ensure someone does not have to navigate their mental health journey alone.

Final Report Highlights

for Project Aware

As promised in our last issue, we are excited to share highlights from Project AWARE Teen Mental Health First Aid. Through this initiative, 5,630 students across Ohio now have the skills to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use concerns among themselves and their peers.

The project launched in early 2025 and concluded 14 months later. During that time, eighteen new Teen Mental Health First Aid instructors were trained, bringing the total number of teen instructors statewide to 30. With this small but dedicated group, along with an incredible team of coordinators, every class was delivered successfully to twenty-six high schools across Ohio.

Instructors consistently reported strong student engagement, especially during interactive and activity-based lessons. Student feedback shows overwhelmingly positive responses to the training:

We extend sincere thanks to the students, high schools administrators, classroom teachers, teen instructors, and coordinators who made this life-changing project possible. The skills students gained through Teen MHFA will stay with these young people long after the training ends.

New Evaluation Confirms the Impact

of Teen Mental Health First Aid

Ronnie Gladden, our teen MHFA Instructor and MHFA Collaborative intern, recently completed an evaluation using post‑survey results from students through our Project AWARE initiative. He conducted this work as part of OSU’s Licensed Social Worker program.

Ronnie’s findings confirm the powerful impact MHFAiders have within school communities. Teens who completed tMHFA reported greater confidence in helping a peer, stronger intentions to take supportive action, and meaningful reductions in mental health stigma. Students were also more likely to view trusted adults, school counselors, and resources such as 988 as helpful and appropriate support.

These results highlight yet again the importance of peer‑based prevention leading to safer, more supportive school environments.

We are grateful to Ronnie for choosing to focus his evaluation project on teen MHFA during his time with us. His paper is currently under review for possible publication, and we look forward to sharing it if it is published.

Bring tMHFA to Your School in Fall 2026!

If you would like to bring these positive outcomes to your school or youth-serving organization, we are currently scheduling teen MHFA trainings for the fall. Here are some options for you:

1.    If you are in Ohio’s Athens, Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, or Highland Counties, or in Kentucky’s Bracken, Gallatin, Grant, or Pendleton County, we can offer teen MHFA at no cost, thanks to the generosity of our donors.

2.    If you are outside these counties, teen MHFA is available at a cost of $1,850 per class of up to thirty students.

3.    If you would like to see if funding becomes available, we are also happy to place your school or youth‑serving organization on our waiting list, and we’ll notify you with new grant opportunities.

Either way, please let us know if you are interested in any of the above so we can reach out to you. We’d hate you to miss the opportunity to bring this life‑changing program to your students!

Calling All Youth and

Youth-Serving Organizations!

The National Institutes of Health Office of Disease Prevention is inviting public input through a new Request for Information focused on Youth Participatory Action Research by July 16^th.

The researchers are looking for insight on where youth can make the biggest difference, how youth can be meaningfully involved, what supports are needed, and how findings can shape policy and practice in schools and communities.

This is a chance for youth and youth‑serving organizations to influence future federal priorities by sharing what they have learned through experience when youth voices are included in mental and behavioral health.

Next Steps:

1.   Earn your Be There Certificate!

2.    Download the updated “Resource Guide for Mental Health First Aiders” App

3.    Contact us if you’re interested in hosting a no cost MHFA training course in:



Ohio counties: Athens, Adams, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren or

Kentucky counties: Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, Mason, Lewis, Fleming, Rowan, Robertson, Carter, and Greenup.

4.    Join our private Facebook group for certified Mental Health First Aiders. 



5.    Check out our updated website.