Montana State University has been awarded a three-year, $240,000 grant from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to deliver a mental health program to more rural and tribal schools.
The Youth Aware of Mental Health program teaches both mental health awareness and risk factors associated with suicide, as well as skills for dealing with adverse life events, MSU News Service reports.
The program was first developed in Sweden and more than 11,000 ninth-graders in 10 European countries participated in an initial study.
Since its start in 2016, the program has been offered in nearly 40 Montana communities to approximately 12,500 Montana youth.
"Our ultimate goal is to expand this program to as many counties and schools as we possibly can," says Kelley Edwards, MSU's YAM program coordinator.
The five-hour program is spread over a minimum of three weeks and includes interactive talks, role-playing, and mental health referral resources.
The program teaches both mental health awareness and risk factors associated with suicide, as well as skills for dealing with adverse life events.
The final day of the program is devoted to review and to ensuring that students have a strong understanding of local, state, and national resources that are available, should they or a friend need additional help.
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