COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – For Tracy Morrison
“Knowing that my cousin had just lost his son,” said Johnathan Cunnie, attended the training. “It made me feel more immediate about his mental health.”
And Johnathan Cunnie, Mental health is a sensitive subject.
Connie and Morrison both know firsthand the impacts a mental health crisis can have on families, which is why they attended the mental health first aid training.
The training taught educators and business leaders active listening skills and practice, and presented them with realistic scenarios.
Morrison said, they are all skills that she wishes she had known sooner.
“When my son first started having some issues with grades,” said Morrison, attended the training. “I thought he was just a typical teenage boy, but it was deeper than that.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 23.4% of adults in the U.S. experienced mental illness in 2024.
“Mental health situations and mental health illness are obviously widespread, and it is bigger than what we know,” said Morrison. “We need to look over that and realize that the stigma needs to drop.”
Cunnie said learning different coping measures and how to help people dealing with a crisis can make a big difference for many families
“If you can come to an event to teach you what to do to observe, to listen, and how to listen, I really feel like that is the most important part,” said Cunnie. “Without any knowledge, there is just a lot of ignorance.
More than 20 people participated in the training, and Executive Director Executive for 988 Suicide Crisis Line Center Contact Helpline Katrina Sunivelle tells WCBI, her organization plans to hold more of these work sessions in the future
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