April 6, 2023

LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Awarded Mental Health Grant to Support Members

On April 6, 2023 by Terri Foley

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation team will be using more than $72,000 to continue offering free Mental Health First Aid training to members, through the Minnesota Department of Health’s Mental Health Care Professionals Grant program.

The goal is to build peer-to-peer safety nets for mental health in member sites. Since 2021, LAMF has helped more than 270 LeadingAge Minnesota members attend the MHFA training at no charge. With this new funding, we will be able to support an additional 240 members to attend this training.

What is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)?

Training as a Mental Health First Aider prepares any staff person to have a peer-to-peer conversation about how stress is affecting a co-worker’s mental health. Many people are afraid to seek professional care for a mental health problem but may be open to having a first conversation with a co-worker trained to respond without judgment.

The program offers a nationally proven strategy to improve staff well-being and to reduce the stigma of talking about mental health concerns.

One member who is implementing MHFA across the organization has found that employee assistance program usage has increased after introducing the program. First Aiders can be frontline staff, supervisors, and leaders.

More Free Training Coming Soon

Look for more information this summer about new training sessions. You can also contact Terri Foley, LAMF Program Officer, at with questions.

This project is supported by the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation, a partner of LeadingAge Minnesota, using grant dollars and tax-deductible contributions to support initiatives that transform and enhance the experience of aging. Learn more about our work.