Education and Prevention

The Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative (CYMHI)

The Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative (CYMHI) provides education and support for children and youth, their families, schools and other child and youth serving personnel.
CYMHI is the transformation of the A.N.S.W.E.R (Adolescents Never Suicide When Every One Responds) program. Since its inception in January of 2007, CYMHI has delivered services to over 3,000 children and youth, their families, and school and other child/youth serving personnel in the Greater Kansas City area.

Services

• Presentations for students, parents/family, school and child/youth serving personnel

• Professional trainings and workshops particular to children and youth

• Information and Referral Services

• Attendance at school/community health fairs

Presentations

• Suicide Awareness/Prevention Education– for youth, school and youth-serving staff, families
• Mental illness/health education presentations- signs and symptoms of mental illnesses
• Prevention and early intervention- Recognizing and responding to early signs and symptoms, evidence based treatments and supports, accessing and advocating for mental health services and supports, raising resilient children
• Early recognition and intervention in mental illness in classrooms– for teachers and school personnel

Goals

• To increase knowledge and awareness of mental health issues and symptoms as they present in children and youth
• To improve knowledge and understanding of the effectiveness and importance of early
  treatment in order to increase the capacity of children and youth to recover from mental illness.

Success

After our presentations:

• 91 percent of students said they would get help if they ever became depressed or suicidal.
• 90 percent of adult learners express intent to utilize information and/or skills gained.
• 96 percent of middle and high school students rated presentations as either excellent or good.
• 90 percent of adult learners rated presentations as excellent.

Quotes from Participants

• “The presenter did a great job of relating to students and in providing good information.”
  - Middle School Teacher
• “After listening to the presenter, I realized that I have a ton of people who care about me. It helped me a lot to understand what I went through.”
  -9th grade student
• “It was not just helpful; helpful is an understatement. What we discovered was very informative. It not only gave us answers, but also motivation.”
  -Parent; Early Childhood Mental Health training attendee

For more information on CYMHI, please call (913) 281-2221 x104 or email kpankey@mhah.org.