Deanna Harris-McKoy
DeAnna Harris-McKoy is on a mission to help area youth facing mental health challenges.
The NIU associate professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences was recently awarded a generous grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that will allow her to make an immediate impact in the community.
“I am excited about bringing youth mental health first aid (YMHFA) training to the community because it embodies the university’s values of service and stewardship,” said Harris-McKoy, who is the director of NIU’s Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy Program. “We are using our knowledge and resources to help mitigate the current youth mental health crisis by training adults to recognize the signs and symptoms of youth mental health challenges.”
The $480,000 grant will provide youth mental health first aid training to adults in DeKalb, Winnebago and Kane counties over the next four years. Harris-McKoy’s goal is to train thousands of adults – and to specifically increase the number of adults trained from historically marginalized backgrounds – to help youth from historically marginalized backgrounds facing mental health challenges.
In addition, current, former, and incoming Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy students are being trained as instructors for the workshops.
“I became a marriage and family therapist as a way to help youth,” Harris-McKoy said. “As an undergraduate student, I saw that adolescents did not have a lot of power over their own lives, and it seemed unfair to place the responsibility to change solely on them.”
She said the systemic approach in the field of marriage and family therapy seemed like the best way to help shift family and community dynamics to create a healthy environment for positive youth development. Pairing that with her philosophy of research that focuses on being a resource to others, bringing youth mental health first aid training to NIU is crucial.
“We are currently in a youth mental health crisis,” Harris-McKoy said. “It is important for adults to recognize the signs and symptoms of youth mental health challenges and have confidence in assisting as a lay person.”
Thomas Pavkov, chair, NIU School of Family and Consumer Sciences, shares the sentiment.
“It is imperative that we address the mental health crisis among youth in our country,” Pavkov said. “The youth mental health first aid workshops are a significant component to the needed response and will support young people throughout northern Illinois.”
Request a Youth Mental Health First Aid Training workshop (virtual or in-person) here or email YMHfirstaid@niu.edu to request more information.
Source: NIU Today CHHS News
