Euclid Hope Task Force talks about mental health at education session

Euclid’s Hope Task Force had a few new faces show up during the second of its “month of learning” series which is hosting different groups each week to talk on various community issues that Euclid and other cities are dealing with.

While the task force normally focuses on how violence from others affects the community, the topic was shifted to self-harm on April 22, when Chyrel Oates and Yulanda Prude with the Case Western Reserve University Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods presented an introduction to the Mental Health First Aid program. It teaches people how to recognize the signs that someone might be suicidal, as well as how to provide support, how to listen, and how to decide if it’s time to suggest intervention.

“We are here to talk about Mental Health First Aid, which is an evidence-based curriculum around mental health awareness and suicide prevention,” Oates, who is project director for youth community programs, said before presenting. “Both of us are certified instructors in mental health first aid.

“So, we are just going to introduce the curriculum, the concept, to community folks. I think the idea is for them to learn about it and determine if this is a strategy that they want to implement,” Oats continued. “It’s to ensure that adults in the community have awareness skills to interact with others, either their peers or the youth in the community around mental health.

“We create a safer community when we can access a situation and access what might be an appropriate response, and I think that maybe I’ll leave it there.”

Pam Turos, one of the founding task force members, said that the month of education was leading up to their May 17 City-Wide Visioning Session where they will be gathering people to create a plan and “vision” for a safe community.

“Everything that we are doing this month is important to the planning process and we have been building up to it,” Turos said. “Our original contract with Case was four phases. The first phase was the community listening, which we did in November. The second phase is the learning phase and that’s what we’re in now.

“…We are really just trying to build energy for that planning session… keeping it on top of people’s minds and keeping a full calendar of events,” Turos added. ” A lot of these things have been ideas that have been introduced to us before- starting with the National Expert Panel that we had last Monday and then this tonight, it’s really just connecting all of those things”

She said that the reason for having the topic of mental health awareness be brought up at this session at Grace Community Church in Euclid was because mental health can affect many different parts of someone’s life and could be a key part in understanding what someone is dealing with.

Earlier in the year when they questioned the community through different “listening sessions,” many residents brought up the need to address mental health and the role it plays in the health and wellness of the city.

Turos said that with that information in mind, they wanted to start shaping how they could address mental health issues on a bigger scale.

“It’s certainly something that we as a community deal with,” Turos said. “First of all, its something that every community deals with. But people who have mental health issues are also more likely to be impacted by violence and to be involved with situations that can affect their mental health.

“When we look back again at those preventative factors, could addressing mental health needs be a preventative factor towards future high-risk behaviors or placing people in high-risk situations?” Turos added. “Healthy family structure – if we take care of the whole person, then we have a healthier community.”

She said that a subject that regularly comes up at meetings is that many residents might not know what resources are already available in the community.

“Something that keeps coming up, is the connection between all the things that exist in our community,” Turos said. “…so, we are really trying to rebuild those synergies between all the organizations and the people, and residents, and city leadership so we can put all the pieces together come May 17 and then decide where we want to go as a community.”

Euclid Hope Task Force will be continuing its learning sessions on April 28 with a “Youth Are Experts, Too” panel where youth will share their experiences related to gun violence at the Euclid High School starting at 5:30 p.m.

On May 3,  the task force will be having a Euclid Community Expo at Moore Counseling & Mediation. This meet-and-greet is for people to connect with community services and other residents and will have food, prizes, and entertainment, according to the task force’s website.