Pleasantville Strong hosted a Youth Mental Health Aid Training event last Saturday in Mount Pleasant, in an aim to educate residents about mental health illnesses and ways to identify them, particularly among teens.<\/p>\n
The eight-hour training, which was instructed by Pleasantville Board Trustee Colleen Wagner, took place in the basement of the Mount Pleasant Library with 15 residents of different ages and backgrounds in attendance.<\/p>\n
The training included multiple activities that covered different illnesses such as bipolar disorder, ADHD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the course clearly lays out the prevalence of mental health illnesses and challenges in our adolescence, and there\u2019s no reason to think that Pleasantville or Westchester County would be any different from any other area facing these same challenges,\u201d Wagner said.<\/p>\n
Wagner’s motivations to instruct these courses includes the suicide of a family friend at the age of 10 and her own son\u2019s struggle with ADHD.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son\u2019s disorder certainly impacts my passion about educating people and eliminating that stigma,\u201d she said. \u201cMy son has experienced things other kids haven\u2019t. His life is difficult, as are many kids who have either emotional, behavioral, psychiatric or physical limitations. So certainly, I\u2019m committed to helping or assisting anyone for that.”<\/p>\n
Among those in attendance was Pleasantville resident Jeannine Anigiolli, who has a long history of working with kids with mental illnesses. She said she attended the training to learn more about mental illnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taught emotionally disturbed children for 30 years and I majored in psychology, so I know some of things when it comes to this issue,\u201d Angiolli said. \u201cBut still, I wanted to be able to be surer of what I was thinking and what I was doing, and know what was right or wrong in emergency situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angiolli says the discussion on suicide was her major takeaway from the entire eight-hour training, which she called “fantastic and very informative.”<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main takeaway was you should not be afraid to ask someone if they were thinking of killing themselves,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause 99% of people who are contemplating suicide will tell someone because they are looking for intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Westchester County, the opioid epidemic has struck hard and has led to numerous deaths in the community. The epidemic and substance abuse in general was another significant topic of conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSubstance abuse is an issue,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cAnd we as the adults and leaders in the community need to educate the kids, educate each other and we need be open and supportive to anybody who may be heading down the path. And I\u2019m a big believer that education is the key because if we know better, we do better.”<\/p>\n
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