- Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) lacks sufficient proof it helps people with serious mental illness.
- The venders of the program and those who want to purchase it, have convinced Congress to introduce a bill to have taxpayers pay for it.
- Those funds would be better used on programs proven to help people with serious mental illness.
(Note: If anyone has research contrary to that which we discuss, please post it in comments section. Our goal is to make sure our information and conclusions are accurate. Thank you)
As part of his “Now is the Time” initiative in response to the shootings at Newtown, President Obama announced support for Mental Health First Aid. The organizations above, plus NAMI, MHA and others are now lobbying Congress to spend $20 million dollars for passage of The Mental Health First Aid Act of 2013 (S. 153/H.R. 274). The program is shown to make those who receive and give the training feel better, but has not been shown to have an impact on those they are supposed to be helping: people with serious mental illness.
Congress should not fund MHFA, and instead use the funds for programs that work. (Read more)