Learn how first responders are becoming trauma-informed and hear the practical applications of putting trauma-informed strategies in place.
Presenters from the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) will discuss several innovative state and local programs, including training programs and support initiatives. The role of leadership and integrated system responses will be highlighted, including OhioMHAS’s new first responder liaison, who serves as a resource to first responders and their agencies, behavioral health care providers, and the community at large. The Ohio Aiding Safety Services with Incident Survival Techniques (ASSIST) program, among other state efforts, will be introduced. Ohio ASSIST provides Post Critical Incident Seminars to first responders and their families and has partnered with several other states in providing seminars and resources through trained peers to assist these states in helping their own first responders.
Participants will learn:
- Ohio’s multilevel, statewide strategy to improve mental health and substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery support services in Ohio.
- Strategies to increase support for first responders dealing with primary and witness trauma.
- How trauma-informed approaches can help first responders be safer and more effective.
- New tools and resources for using trauma-informed approaches to common situations encountered by first responders, including responses to opioid overdose.