Crisis intervention agency offering sessions to lay people to
identify people mentally ill and provide assitance Common Ground
will offer two sessions in March to equip lay people with tools
“to recognize and respond to people who may be in a mental
health crisis,” the nonprofit’s top executive says. The
internationally recognized program, Mental Health First Aid,
will run 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 21-22, Common Ground
spokeswoman Lenda Jackson said Friday. The re-emphasis on
helping the public learn how to identify someone in a mental
health crisis is in response to the shooting deaths of 20
children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Conn., Common Ground said in a press release. In
addition, the nonprofit noted President Barack Obama said in his
inaugural speech he is committed to exploring actions that would
prevent a massacre like Newtown from recurring. Among the
recommendations from a task force headed by Vice President Joe
Biden was the call for Mental Health First Aid Train