Denmark Does It Again!

Black Dog Riders in Regional WA Fund MHFA Training For 55 Community Members!

Sunday July 22nd marked the day when 55 community members in and around Denmark WA had been trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) by Black Dog Ride funded courses.

Since early 2016, Black Dog Ride's Denmark Committee has been tirelessly fundraising in order to train locals in Mental Health First Aid.

On the weekend of 21st and 22nd July, another 23 community members were trained in Standard MHFA, bringing the grand total of trained Mental Health First Aiders in and around Denmark to 55 people in just over one year.

MHFA empowers people with the knowledge to identify and respond appropriately to an emerging mental health crisis. It is a vital tool in our community suicide prevention tool box.

How It Started

The catalyst for Black Dog Ride's Denmark community in fundraising for MHFA courses were a series of bushfires in which the local volunteer Bush Fire Brigade were involved. Understanding the heightened risk for trauma related mental illness amongst the local firies, Black Dog Ride's volunteers, many of whom were volunteer firies themselves, identified MHFA training as a powerful tool to help the community support each other. Denmark Lions Club have also played a key role in fundraising and bringing the local community together for MHFA training.

Highlights

A highlight of the weekend's course was meeting Keith. A young family man with two growing boys, nursing studies and being a FIFO worker, Keith was finding it tough to connect with locals and to find a sense of belonging in town. Just one weekend with Black Dog Riders and fellow MHFAiders, and now Keith is going to join the Denmark Lions Club and a local Bush Fire Brigade!

Good onya Keith!

Social inclusion and belonging play a significant role in enhancing our wellbeing, and we're proud of Denmark for making Keith feel "at home".

Congratulations and well done to all Mental Health First Aiders in Denmark, and Black Dog Ride's community in this wonderful town, especially the 1 Dayer Committee, Bev Seeney, and Black Dog Ride's WA MHFA Instructor Graeme Raine.

What's Next

Browse the Facebook Album of these local heroes and their MHFA training here.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2017 -> Denmark Black Dog Riders have just completed another SMHFA training weekend in Walpole where 15 community members were accredited as MHFAiders, bringing the total trained in SMHFA to 70 locals!! Well done Denmark Black Dog Riders!

If you'd like to organise a MHFA course near you, browse our MHFA page here:
http://www.blackdogride.com.au/mhfa

Black Dog Ride's Denmark Mental Health First Aid Graduates July 2017

More About MHFA -

The 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid course teaches people (18 years and over) how to offer initial support to adults who are developing a mental illness, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis, until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis resolves.

Course participants learn about the signs and symptoms of the common and disabling mental health problems, how to provide initial help, where and how to get professional help, what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective, and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation.

MHFA has been widely evaluated in research trials conducted by MHFA Australia and independent organisations. These evaluations consistently show that participants who complete the course have improved knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatments, knowledge of appropriate first aid strategies, and confidence in providing first aid to individuals with mental illness, benefits which are maintained over time.

Some studies have also shown improved mental health in those who attend the training, decreases in stigmatising attitudes and increases in the amount and type of support provided to others.

More Info: https://mhfa.com.au