Youth Mental Health and Wellness Advisory Council

Award

The Youth Mental Health and Wellness Advisory Council consists of a core team of Town leadership, School Board leadership, Enfield Public School Administrators, Enfield Police Department Administration, School Nurse Supervisor, Director of Special Education, Program Manager of Youth Services, and representatives from community mental health providers.


Subcommittees:

  • Rachel’s Challenge (Youth involvement)
  • Trauma Informed School Mental Health
  • Crisis Response Team

Background

The Enfield Community engaged in a series of trainings beginning in 2011 to understand best practices to prevent suicide and work together to reduce other risk factors that contribute to suicide. Joint training has helped the community understand suicide is not caused by one single factor, but is a complex interconnecting set of risk factors. The co-occurring issues of mental health, substance use, and access to lethal means create a dangerous triangle. We have trained all teachers and faculty as well as the 9th graders every year in Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) in an effort to identify suicidal individuals and connect them to resources.