St. Joseph, MI: Teachers need to prepare for students with "mental health crisis"

Aug 30, 2017, St. Joseph (MI) Herald Palladium: BH schools takes on mental health crisis http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/bh-schools-takes-on-mental-health-crisis/article_e72381ec-b643-5e6b-9610-aa92e15965c0.html Schools hold fire and tornado drills so they can be prepared for a possible emergency. But experts point out that a teacher or other staff member is more likely to encounter a student experiencing a mental health crisis than a natural disaster. According to Mental Health First Aid USA, which trains individuals on how to detect and respond to such situations, one in five young people ages 13 to 18 lives with a mental health condition.... Benton Harbor Area Schools is taking the lead in confronting these circumstances. On Tuesday about 200 teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other employees attended a youth mental health first aid training that instructed them in how to recognize and take action when a student is at risk. ... Benton Harbor Area Schools Superintendent Shelley Walker said the training is part of a long-term strategy for helping students deal with difficulties in their lives and to make them better students. Walker said when she first came to the district she found teachers “starving for information on how to support kids.”