SolanoConnex Community Fellowship

The SolanoConnex Community Fellowship is a mentorship program where a cohort of paid community frontline workers and unsung heroes receive Mental Health First Aid training to recognize, intervene, and direct those who they encounter who may suffer from mental illness to the appropriate services. This is an advanced course for community leaders and frontline workers who want to directly respond to and train peers to identify and respond to mental health needs in their community.

Upon completion of this Fellowship participants will be able to:

• Recognize the potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including: depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and self-injury. 

• Create and use a tailored Action Plan to address mental health barriers in your specific environment.

• Interpret the prevalence of various mental health disorders in the U.S. and the need for reduced negative attitudes in their communities. 

• Apply knowledge of the appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help resources available to help those with mental health struggles take the next step.

• Assess their own views and feelings about mental health problems and disorders.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA ): is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

Action Plan: The action planning process will have two parts. 1) Individual level (ALGEE) and 2) community / environmental level (Fellowship Action Plan). 

1. The MHFA Action Plan (ALGEE) is a step-by-step action plan to use when providing support to someone who may be experiencing a distressing situation, just as you would if you were administering first aid for a fall. 

2. The Fellowship Action Plan will focus on your goal for creating an action plan to reduce mental health barriers in your environment and community.

Time Commitment: This fellowship will include 8 meetings over a 5-6 month period with four, weekly two hour sessions, and three monthly follow-up sessions to check with the progression of participants’ action plans. The meetings will be held after hours during the weekend with times pending. Participants who complete the training will receive a $1000 stipend.

Community Vision: At the conclusion of the training, participants will be expected to construct and deliver community action plans to their respective communities and/or work environments. 

Current Calls for Applications: