“These are not just people that are struggling in the news. These are our friends, our colleagues, our family… and we can’t afford to lose another one of them.”

One day not long ago, one of our teammates decided that it might be his last day on this earth. But using the training that I received from April and her partner in teaching the Mental Health First Aid class, I got behind my laptop, got my phone in my hand, and went into full quarterback mode. We were able to help my coworker and friend not make a final and terrible decision and ultimately got him the help that he needed. I can’t tell you how important Mental Health First Aid is to our community and how proud I am to see Pinellas County leading the charge nationally to roll this curriculum out. These are not just people that are struggling in the news. These are our friends, our colleagues, our family… and we can’t afford to lose another one of them.