The Weston Emergency Reserve Corps (WERC) has chosen to concentrate its National Preparedness Month (September) on Mental Health. As they say on their Facebook page, being prepared to help others and oneself with mental health challenges is just as important as knowing how to stop a bleed or set up cots in a shelter.

If you don’t use Facebook, you can find lots of helpful information in the WERC newsletter–you can find the latest one here. In it you will find a helpful article written by Lisa Kaufman about Psychological First Aid, something we should all really know how to do. The most important pieces are Protect, Direct and Connect– please take the time to read the article and know how to use these important concepts.

In addition, and because I am biased with Owlet teenagers, I would like to highlight an upcoming webinar on September 15 called Preventing Suicides: Supporting the Teens in Your Life. Even if you do not have your own teenagers at home, you probably interact with a few, and understanding how to support them is critical. I have copied the following information on the webinar from the WERC newsletter:

Webinar Preventing Suicides: Supporting the Teens in Your Life
Thursday, Sept 15, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Online
Families for Depression Awareness is presenting a free webinar intended for parents, caregivers, family members, youth workers, and caring adults interested in learning about teen mental health, how to respond to a crisis, and suicide prevention. Dr. Kiara Alvarez will share how to identify warning signs of mental health crisis and suicide, communicate with teens about suicide prevention, and encourage teens to seek help. Register here to join the live webinar discussion or to watch on demand after it airs. If you are new to the topic of teen depression or in need of a refresher, you may want to watch their Understanding Teen Depression recording as a foundation to this upcoming webinar.

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The Owl has highlighted Mental Health at the Weston High School before, and will do it again. You can read about it here (Active Minds club) and here (WHS resources) and also hear from Miss Weston about Mental Health. We also have a Mental Health Rockstar at the Weston Police Station.

Know the signs. Get help. Give help. National Preparedness Month.

Weston Emergency Reserve Corps is a volunteer organization that exists to strengthen the town’s public health infrastructure and improve emergency readiness. To find out more, please see the Town website here.