Click here for details about the application process, discover benefits of the program, and read about previous associates’ experiences.

The Youth MHFA Corps is an innovative AmeriCorps program that engages community based organizations to support widespread implementation of Youth Mental Health First Aid™ in communities across the nation.

There is a sense of urgency in our nation to improve awareness, recognition and ability to respond to the needs of youth experiencing symptoms of mental illness. National, state and local leaders are calling for implementation of YMHFA™ to help communities improve their ability to respond to the mental health needs of youth.

The Youth MHFA Corps places AmeriCorps members at community based agencies across the nation. During their one year service term AmeriCorps members are trained as YMHFA™ instructors and provide YMHFA™ certification classes for community members who work with youth.

Follow this link to learn how to apply to become a Youth MHFA Corps host site:

http://www.nwctahec.org/docs/Youth%20Mental%20Health%20First%20Aid%20Corps__RFP_2015.pdf

Below are two articles about the growing efforts and enrollment in undergraduate public health across the nation, including community colleges.

http://www.aspph.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-GENERATION-UNDERGRADUATE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-DEGREES-GROWING-EXPONENTIALLY1.pdf

Community College public health recommendations are here: http://www.league.org/league/projects/ccph/files/Recommendations.pdf

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/lessons_plans/ebola-outbreak-lesson-plan/. Please let us know if you use this and the results.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/11-hot-college-majors?int=96b308&int=982e08 The latest on top 10 hot careers from US News and World Reports includes Public Health! Check out #9.

http://www.thisispublichealth.org/iampublichealth.html A one-armed bandit public health career game for students. Let me know if you nor your students think it is a helpful way to research public health careers.

http://www.apha.org/about/careers/newsletter/ The article offers a simple explanation of health insurance and health economics for your health career students. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to several other topics related to public health careers.

http://www.apha.org/about/careers/newsletter/2011/3/content.htm#3 Advice for Undergrads provides an overview of what you can do with an undergraduate degree in PH.

Don’t miss the 2014 CPHA Annual Conference Oct. 17th in Waterbury!!

Two excellent breakout sessions are featured to meet the needs of public health mentors/ambassadors,and school health educators, guidance counselors, and health and medical career teachers:

Promoting Healthier Choices and Health Careers through Public Health 101: A Workshop for Public Health Mentors and Educators
Participants will identify community partners (educators/mentors) that can promote public health experiential learning, inquire Public Health 101 teaching techniques, and learn how public health prepares students for work and community engagement in the 21st century.

Looking for Jobs in All the Right Places: The Expanding Public Health Career Pathway
Jeremy Kelley from Jobs for the Future will uncover the latest job trends in health/public health careers. Following the presentation, five experts in public health will provide 10-minute “speed mentoring” sessions for small groups of participants.

Cyndi & Pamela

Cyndi Billian Stern, MA, MPH
Billian Stern Consulting, LLC for CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry
Farmington, CT 06032
Voice: 860.674.0774 Cell: 860.729.2929 Fax: 860.678.1681

Pamela Kilbey-Fox, MPH
Chair, CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry
860-912-0032

• To reach 1000 students in high schools and undergraduate programs with public health activities and career-focused presentations.
• To reach at least one school in each of Connecticut’s eight counties.
• To establish and strengthen existing relationships with educators to increase school-based public health educational activities beyond NPHW.

The CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry (MOR) founded in 2007, is comprised of 36 public health organizational members representing a broad range of institutions, including higher education, local and state health departments and non-profits, with a goal of developing youth as future public health leaders and knowledgeable citizens. The members of the MOR expose youth to public health concepts and careers by providing experiential learning opportunities for middle, high school and community college educators and their students.

Of the 45 public health organizations and educational institutions polled, 17 completed the survey for a response rate of 38%. The composition of the sample included 9 representatives of MOR member organizations, 8 representatives from high school programs that have worked with MOR volunteers to integrate public health into their academic programs.

Survey Highlights:

• Over 94% or 16/17 reported that their organization participated in public health activities during National Public Health Week. In total, almost 1700 (1698) students were reached through activities during the week. A HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) activity, led by Susan Troupe of Brookfield High School drew the largest number of students with a school-wide health fair in that town.
• According to respondents the most popular activity reported by MOR members during NPHW was being a guest speaker, independently or as part of a panel (47% or 8 of 17). Other activities included participation in a health fair, CPHA Student Advocacy Day at the Capitol and a teen violence prevention activity.
• High school students were the educational group most frequently reached by MOR members: 82% (14/17) reported reaching this population. Over 24% (4) reported working with undergraduate and community college students.
• Over 76% used MOR materials, with 47% reporting that the materials were very helpful, 18% reporting somewhat helpful, and 11% stating that the materials would be very helpful with training.
• MOR survey respondents reached students with public health activities and presentations in at least 15 communities across the state: Danbury, East Hartford, Easton/Redding (Region 9), Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, Milford, New Haven, Oxford, North Haven, Newtown, Prospect/Beacon Falls (Region 16) Southbury/Middlebury (Region 15), Waterbury, Wallingford, up from 13 reported in the fall 2013 survey of the MOR.

Discussion:

This was the first time that the CPHA MOR surveyed its members and the educators they work with about the type and extent of their National Public Health Week Activities. Our goals were easily achieved in terms of raw numbers of students reached, with almost 1700 students participating in NPHW. We did not achieve our goal of holding activities in at least one school in each CT region; however, given the response rate (37%) further investigation would be needed to accurately determine the participation in the three counties where there were no surveys returned: New London, Windham, and Tolland.

The success of our third goal, to establish new relationships with educators, was supported through our relationship with Education Connection. Through our work with their Health Career Internship Program we succeeded in connecting with four additional communities and look forward to expanding our efforts in these new schools by connecting them to public health professionals in their area.

Recommendations:

The survey offered support for making National Public Health Week an annual MOR activity to introduce students to concepts and careers in public health and to help MOR members network with local educational institutions.

Based on this survey, the following is recommended:

1. CPHA MOR should continue to increase its outreach and activities during NPHW.
2. CPHA MOR should use the listserv and/or Facebook page to facilitate connections between public health organization-educational institutions. A special effort should be made to work with health educators, educators responsible for community service and capstones, and academies with a health or environmental theme.
3. CPHA MOR needs to provide training for its members to improve their comfort level and familiarity with the MOR PowerPoint and new film festival posted on the CPHA MOR web. Some MOR survey participants indicated they needed training on activities and materials posted on the CPHA MOR web site, which could boost the quality and quantity of MOR presentations
4. The MOR should design a simple online reporting tool to help members track and report back their activities with educational institutions. This will also enhance robustness of future surveys.
5. CPHA needs to secure funding for the MOR in order to ensure volunteer coordination and completion of these tasks.

For further information about the survey please contact Cyndi Billian Stern (Cyndistern@mac.com) or Pamela Kilbey-Fox (pkilbeyfox@gmail.com)

What you will need:

• A flash drive to load this PowerPoint onto a school computer that communicates with a white board or other display with sound.
• Check to see if certain sites are blocked at the schools (YouTube, etc.) and select videos accordingly. You may also override blocked sites by using your phone as a hotspot. (Find it under personal hotspot settings).

Click here for the 2014 CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry's Public Health Film Festival

• Tuesday, April 8 at 8PM
• Monday, April 14 at 10PM
• Sunday, April 20 at 10AM

The tremendous interest generated by this live Forum event will be shared with CPTV viewers and help continue the conversation about mental health and the stigma of mental illness. Please feel free to spread the word about the re-broadcast to public health colleagues, educators and community leaders.

To view a press release about the CPTV re-broadcast of The CT Forum's An Honest Look at Mental Illness, click here.

To see video highlights of this powerful Forum, click the following links:

• Andrew Solomon on Poverty, Education and Mental Illness
• Andrew Solomon Talks Adam Lanza, Violence and Mental Illness
• Kay Refield Jamison: We cannot tolerate you not getting treatment
• Hank Schwartz on Mental Illness: We expect people to snap out of it!

CTRA is magnet high school located in East Hartford guided by two themes: environmental studies and early college. On Friday, April 25th we are hosting an Earth Day Celebration which will include a career fair component. It is our hope that you and your organization will be able to join us for this event.

The Details:

When: Friday, April 25th from 8:15-11:30 (set up 8:00-8:30)

Where: CT River Academy at Goodwin College, 9 Riverside Drive, East Hartford

What to bring: Pamphlets, brochures, interview tips, resume samples, etc. Anything you feel would help our scholars improve their career readiness skills. Participants will be provided with a table and a scholar to help you set up your materials.

What you will be doing: You will be providing information about your organization to our scholars in small groups throughout the morning. Information could include: your company's mission, your daily tasks, education requirements, 21st century skills needed, networking skills, etc.

How to register: Please click the following link and register for the event by April 4th:

Register Here!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:

Michele Saulis, Environmental Theme Coach; msaulis@ctriveracademy.org; cell 203 907 8767

Kiley Testa, Internship Community Service Coordinator; ktesta@ctriveracademy.org; 860 310 2860

Additionally, please take advantage of these resources to help engage students in public health:

1. Visit the CT Public Health Association MOR resources for National Public Health Week here. The American Public Health Association resources can be found here: National Public Health Week Toolkit.
2. Hold a Public Health Film Festival, screened and promoted by your public health/health education students. Click on the links below for examples:

• Treat Violence like a Contagious Disease
• 17 Facts About E-Cigarettes That Might Surprise You
• How Social Networks Predict Epidemics
• The Toxic Baby

Contact Cyndi or Pamela to learn more:

Cyndi Billian Stern
CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry
860.729.2929

Pamela Kilbey-Fox
CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry Chair
860.912.0032

Today we are launching the CPHA MOR listserv. Members include public health professionals and educators who have attended our workshops or participated in MOR driven activities, such as National Public Health Week.

The CPHA MOR listserv will:

Be a place to find timely activities or articles posted semi-monthly designed to engage younger students in public health

Be a place to share announcements, including public health meeting information, pertinent legislative hearings, workshops and contests on public health

Be a place where people can network to support their online, classroom teaching and workplace learning (e.g., capstones, internships, job-shadowing, community service)

Be a place to showcase student work that demonstrates the positive impact that public health has on youth and their communities. (Check out the CPHA web site to see Newtown High Scool’s award winning public health video!)

If you would like to comment or send recommendations either on or off the list, please email us at Cyndistern@mac.com or PKilbeyfox@gmail.com.

Best regards,

Cyndi Billian Stern, MA, MPH & Pamela Kilbey-Fox, MPH
CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry

Of the 38 MOR members and participants polled, half completed the survey for a response rate of 50%. The composition of the sample included 16 representatives of MOR member organizations, one (1) non-MOR representative of an undergraduate public health program, and two (2) representatives from high school programs that have worked with MOR volunteers to integrate pubic health into their curriculum.

Survey Highlights:

• Survey respondents’ top reason for MOR participation was to raise public health awareness in their communities (78%) closely followed by increasing public health workforce diversity (68%); 63% wanted to improve youth health literacy and almost half (47%) noted that youth development is part of their mission.
• MOR members and educational participants wanted better ways to connect with each other. Over than 61% (11/18) wanted online notices when schools requested MOR services. (Currently, when CPHA MOR receives a request, the co-chair and/or consultant reach out to a MOR member to fulfill the request rather than announcing the opportunity on a web site or listserv.)
• The most widely practiced ambassador activity last year was guest speaking in the classroom (39% or 7/18), followed by advising teachers on curriculum development (33% or 6/18), and offering field trips (33%). More than 25% reported involvement in job shadowing and service learning.
• During the past year, the vast majority (89%) of MOR participants provided ambassador/mentoring services at least once. These included guest speaking, project advising, workplace tours, job shadowing, community service supervision/guidance and/or internships for high schools and/or community colleges;37% provided ambassador services five (5) times or more.
• MOR survey respondents reached students with public health activities and presentations in at least 13 communities across the state: Bridgeport, East Hartford, Farmington, Guilford, Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, Newtown, Stratford, Waterbury and West Haven.
• More than half of survey respondents reported using CPHA MOR materials (provided on the CPHA web site) including Public Health: A Career for a Lifetime, and Making Internships Work: A Toolkit for Public Health Employers. Just under half (47%) reported using materials from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.
• MOR members and educational participants wanted to help high school administrators reach experiential learning, capstone and community service requirements through public health. Three-quarters (74%) of respondents agreed with this statement, none disagreed; 1/3 reported that they would take a high school intern and an additional 37% reported that they might take a high school public health intern.
• MOR members wanted to improve their skills as public health ambassadors through training and access to new resources:
• More than half (54%) wanted to be notified of newly posted materials through a CPHA Linked In page, a listserv or email notice
• 44% wanted workshops and technical assistance focusing on public health lessons, capstones and internship activities.

Discussion:

In 2011, the CPHA MOR surveyed its members and several public health professionals who attended "Ambassador Training” sponsored by the CT Partnership for Public Health Workforce Development. Considerable growth in the MOR survey response rate was noted between 2011 and 2013: from 14.5% (8/55) to 50% 19/38). Respondents indicated that they were offering more and deeper types of experiential learning for these younger students. Field trips, workplace tours and job shadowing, in particular, increased significantly since the first survey. Service learning and project advising appeared to decrease, however the small sample in 2011 may distort this data: Only 3/7 reported involvement in this activity in 2011 compared to 5/18 in 2013. Below are comparisons of 2011 and 2013 responses.

Educators and public health professionals have witnessed a significant growth in the numbers of students and schools participating in public health activities, however, this has not been formally compiled. For example, since 2011, two full-year high school public health courses have been implemented in Newtown High School and the Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven. A health career course with a unit in public health was established at Manchester High School, and over 200 students participated in National Public Health Week in spring of 2013. Middlesex Community College will begin a Public Health course this spring and expand it to include an entire public health certificate program within the next few years. In short, the reach of these programs and the impact that they have on developing future public health professionals and citizens educated in public health needs to be tracked. As the programs grow, so will the need for trained public health ambassadors and mentors, and we will need to prepare.

Recommendations

Based on this survey, the following is recommended:

1. CPHA should establish and maintain a listserv to help MOR members share ideas, materials and experiences to engage youth in public health classes, volunteerism and careers.
2. CPHA MOR should use the listserv and/or Facebook page to facilitate connections between public health organization-educational institutions. A special effort should be made to work with health educators, educators responsible for community service and capstones, and academies with a health or environmental theme.
3. CPHA MOR needs to promote its pubic health workshops for educators and experiential learning opportunities for students. Educators need to know that MOR public health activities offer students credit for community service, capstones and internships. Ambassadors also need access to training to help them adapt to the middle, high school and community college student needs and interests.
4. The MOR should design a simple online reporting tool to help members track and report back their activities with educational institutions.
5. CPHA needs to secure funding for the MOR in order to ensure volunteer coordination and completion of these tasks.

For further information about the survey please contact Cyndi Billian Stern Cyndistern@mac.com or Pamela Kilbey-Fox pkilbeyfox@gmail.com.