Local mental health workers received Youth Mental Health First Aid training on Thursday, June 30, at Steps to HOPE in Columbus.

The training lasted all day and was facilitated by Kate Glance and Ashley Edmonds from the Smoky Mountain LME/MCO for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services center in Asheville.

Participants in the class attended a variety of seminars ranging from how to talk to youth going through a mental health crisis to finding help for those in need of services.

According to Steven Cox with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Detention Division, who participated in the session, these classes helped him realize the resources he gathered from the classes are applicable not just to juveniles coming to the facility but to every individual he encounters on a daily basis saying, “You’ve seen it in movies, books and on TV but the last thing you want to tell someone is to just simply calm down.”