Support and develop your MHFAiders Support is vital to successfully embed MHFA England training into an organisation, and to allow MHFAiders to perform their role safely and effectively. Here are some examples of support strategies which have proven successful: – Follow up after the MHFA course with a conference call or meeting. Make sure everyone feels comfortable in their new role, provide written documentation ( see page 10) and answer any questions around how it works in your organisation. – Set up an MHFAider network with a clear remit for support and idea sharing. This should be overseen by someone with an HR background or the person who is leading the initiative. The network should meet regularly and is an opportunity to remind MHFAiders to look out for their own wellbeing too. – Empower MHFAiders to maintain their skills by accessing MHFA England’s MHFAider support and benefits, including events and up-to-date resources, and with regular Refresher training. We recommend attending an MHFA Refresher course (half a day’s training) every three years, in line with physical first aid training. – Keep track of when people leave the organisation and more MHFA England training is needed to maintain numbers. – Review and report on the impact of the training regularly. – Raise mental health awareness and tackle stigma throughout the organisation to help create an environment where people feel empowered to contact their MHFAiders for support. Some organisations do this by: 1. Circulating free resources and information, e.g. campaigns material from the MHFA England website and Mental Health at Work gateway. 2. Inviting speakers with lived experience of poor mental health or subject experts to deliver a talk or lunch and learn session. MHFA training doesn’t stop when the course comes to an end. Our updated MHFA course offers continuous support for MHFAiders – well beyond their initial certification – to ensure support is always available for your people. This includes access to the MHFAider Support App, so they can access 24/7 digital support, as well as training resources and ongoing learning opportunities. If you would like to find out more about our new offer and unique support package for MHFAiders, please get in touch at workplace@mhfaengland.com.
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