Teachers and student support staff from Mamaroneck High School recently completed a full-day Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training, becoming certified Youth Mental Health First Aiders. The training was led by LM Lions President Lina Pasquale, a Larchmont/Mamaroneck resident, community champion for youth, and nationally certified Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor. YMHFA equips participants with the skills to recognize, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges in young people. The program is part of a broader community effort to strengthen support for youth wellbeing throughout the Larchmont/Mamaroneck community.
This training was inspired by Mamaroneck High School students Gray Hackett and Zakir Strugatskiy, whose multi-year OCRA (Original Civic Research and Action) project focused on advancing youth wellbeing. Through their advocacy, they championed the idea of having MHS teachers and staff trained and certified in this nationally recognized model. Working alongside Lina Pasquale as their mentor and advisor, along with other supportive adults, including MHS team members Helene Fremdner and Joseph Liberti and Mamaroneck School District administrators, Gray and Zakir helped turn their vision into reality.
They researched and assessed key factors that promote youth wellbeing and resilience while exploring the barriers to accessing needed mental health supports in the MHS population of students. They created microlearning and engagement sessions based on their research findings and developed peer-led mental health and wellbeing groups for students at the high school. Their leadership has already made a meaningful impact, and is just the beginning of the ripple effects their efforts will have in strengthening support for young people in Larchmont and Mamaroneck.
The Larchmont Mamaroneck Lions mission is to support – with funding, volunteers & advocacy, local service groups by bringing community leaders together to determine needs, resources & achieve solutions. The LM Lions are part of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service organization of over 1.4 million members. The Lions signature cause is Vision/Blindness, along with Hunger, the Environment, Diabetes, Childhood Cancer and the future of our Youth. They are signatories of the United Nations resolutions on women’s and refugee rights, and are currently active in Afghanistan & Ukrainian refugee resettlement. In addition, affordable housing is a local Lions priority.
For more information: http://www.lmlionsclub.org/