{"id":12098,"date":"2018-08-02T16:20:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T21:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/news\/bethedifference-this-back-to-school-season\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T08:24:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:24:23","slug":"bethedifference-this-back-to-school-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/news\/bethedifference-this-back-to-school-season\/","title":{"rendered":"#BeTheDifference This Back-to-School Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a trained Mental Health First Aider, you know that mental illness and substance use disorders are prevalent. And that’s true for young people, too: one in five youth aged 13-18 will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. That means that in a classroom of 25 students, five will have a mental illness.<\/p>\n

To address mental health and substance use in school settings, our #BeTheDifference focus this month is\u00a0Back-to-School: Why Mental Health Matters at School.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are 5 ways you can #BeTheDifference this back-to-school season:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Join a conversation.<\/strong>\u00a0On Thursday, July 16 from 2-3 p.m. ET, we\u2019re hosting a\u00a0#BeTheDifference Twitter chat<\/a>,\u00a0Mental Health in Schools: Your Back-to-School Toolkit.<\/em>\u00a0To join the chat, follow\u00a0@MHFirstAidUSA<\/a>and use the hashtag #BeTheDifference in your responses.<\/li>\n
  2. Share information.<\/strong>\u00a0We’ve created a series of\u00a0youth- and school-related infographics<\/a>\u00a0to share on social media over the course of the month.\u00a0Check them out and share them to inform\u00a0your networks, too!<\/li>\n
  3. Keep an eye out.\u00a0<\/strong>TEASER ALERT: we\u2019re working on a powerful new video on why Youth Mental Health First Aid is so important. Look for more information on that in the coming weeks, and keep your eye out for the hashtag, #SaidNoTeenEver.<\/li>\n
  4. Read up.<\/strong>\u00a0Our\u00a0#BeTheDifference blog<\/a>\u00a0will be filled with stories about youth mental health, like this one:\u00a05 Signs Your Teen May Be Asking for Help<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0Check the blog frequently for new stories, and remember to share them with your social networks. Do you have a story about providing support to a young person in need? Email\u00a0EricaH@TheNationalCouncil.org<\/a>\u00a0for a chance to be featured on the blog this month.<\/li>\n
  5. Get trained.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re already trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid \u2013 awesome! If not,\u00a0look for a course in your area<\/a>\u00a0and equip yourself with the tools necessary to recognize and respond to a young person facing a mental health or substance use challenge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mental Health First Aiders like you are making a difference in communities across the country every day. Thank you for continuing to #BeTheDifference in yours.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As a trained Mental Health First Aider, you know that mental illness and substance use disorders are prevalent. And that’s true for young people, too: one in five youth aged … Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":12104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[190,194],"topic":[292,178,181],"news-type":[172],"class_list":["post-12098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-schools","tag-youth-and-teen","topic-for-employers","topic-mental-health","topic-mhfa-training","news-type-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n#BeTheDifference This Back-to-School Season<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To address mental health and substance use in school settings, our #BeTheDifference focus this month is\u00a0Back-to-School: Why Mental Health Matters at School. 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