Schools use grant funds to combat suicide

The issue of suicide has been a hot topic for years in Alaska since the state has the one of the highest suicide rates per capita in the country, according to the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. Now, the federal government, state entities, and local schools are taking important steps toward suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

Project A.W.A.R.E. “Advancing Wellness And Resilience Education” is a mental health awareness grant awarded to selected schools in twenty states to help combat mental health issues.

According to Sharon Fishel, an Education Specialist for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the project was formed after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. A 20-year-old man fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members the morning of December 14, 2012.

Some time after President Obama visited Sandy Hook, the federal government assigned roughly $40 million to start a grant that would create additional counseling positions in schools. The goal was to provide focused social and mental health services to students and to “increase awareness for at-risk kids,” according to Deb Haynes, M.Ed, LPC, one of the counselors employed under the grant at Mat-Su Central School.

The Project A.W.A.R.E. positions require a type C “counseling” degree and experience working in mental health.

Laura Porter, Deb Haynes, and Susan Steele are the counselors who work under the grant in the Mat-Su Valley. Three valley schools were awarded money from the Project A.W.A.R.E. grant: Burchell High School, Mat-Su Central School, and Valley Pathways.

Haynes stated that the grant money is being used to provide “a protective safety network for kids in crisis or struggling in areas of life.”

Burchell High School hired Laura Porter, M.CMH, for the Project A.W.A.R.E. counseling position. Outside of school, Porter is also a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). Porter noted that she helps students with “anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse, and physical/mental abuse” as well as “making community mental health referrals” if the student needs additional support.

Paul Cossette, a graduation coach at Mat-Su Central School, feels that the grant has made a very positive impact on his students. Cossette said that it is tremendous to have “someone here to dedicate time for mental health issues and life issues.”

A total of nine schools received federal moneys from the grant in the state of Alaska. As a whole, Alaska will receive $9.1 million throughout the course of five years Fishel said. Fishel is one of the key people in charge of implementing the grant, and says that rather than receiving the funds in a lump sum, the nine Alaska schools will receive “$1.8 million dollars a year for [the next] five years” in accordance with the grant.

Another very important entity is YMHFA, which stands for Youth Mental Health First Aid. According to Fishel, the program is designed to provide YMHFA “training and resources to staff and community.”

Certified mental health awareness trainers teach groups of people, including school staff members, about becoming more aware of the signs of mental health issues. Haynes explained the organization by saying that just “like CPR saves lives,” YMHFA also “keeps people alive.”

YMHFA is also in association with Project A.W.A.R.E. Fishel stated that YMHFA is “training to improve knowledge, reduce stigmatizing attitudes, and increase first aid actions toward people with mental health…challenges.” Fishel also stated that the grant “requires us to have a cadre of trainers in the three districts.”

The Trust Training Cooperative coordinates YMHFA trainings across the state. Individuals interested in YMHFA training can contact Wendi Shackleford through trusttrainingcoop.org.

Danae Mitchell is a sophomore at Mat-Su Central. This is the second year she has submitted articles to the Frontiersman.