Wakefield Rotary Sponsors FREE Mental Health Class

The Wakefield Rotary Club is proud to announce that it has received funding for a Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention Initiative. Thanks to a 1:1 matching grant from Rotary District 7930 and The Rotary Foundation, the initiative will provide two courses in Mental Health First Aid for Wakefield residents free of charge, instructed by certified trainers. The first course was held for two evenings, November 30th and December 2nd at the Beebe Library and is aimed at those who work with youth. The second course, on March 23, 2016, is aimed at those who work in the human services field. Those who work with or live with veterans are especially encouraged. The grant also funds attendee’s dinner at the trainings and take-home manuals. In addition, 19 resource books and texts on mental health and addiction disorders will be donated to the Beebe Library, Wakefield Veteran’s Department and the WAKE UP Coalition. Wakefield Rotary President Bob Kimball noted, “We want to highlight the correlation between mental health issues and substance use. The courses and resource books will be easily accessible to the community and we encourage the community to register for the courses early.” Rotary member Mario Portillo continued, “This is a great investment for the club because these issues affect so many people. In all, Rotary is investing over $3k towards this project.” The club would like to thank Rotary District 7930 for matching their funds and acknowledges the partnerships necessary for the success of the initiative. “We are so lucky to work with Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition, Wakefield Police, and Alicia Reddin from the Wakefield Veteran’s Department,” noted Rotary Grant Chair Amy Luckiewicz. “When we asked if they’d partner with us to make the initiative happen, the support and teamwork came quickly from each of them and it helped us be able to move forward in offering these resources quickly.” For more information on registering for the courses, please email the Rotary club at wakefieldrotaryclub@yahoo.com or visit www.wakefieldrotaryclub.org to register online for the March 23rd class. Professional development certificates are available upon request.

About Rotary International & Wakefield Rotary Club

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 1.2 million Rotarians in 160 countries worldwide. The first Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1905 by an attorney named Paul Harris and several of his colleagues. The name “Rotary” was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among each of the members’ offices. The Rotary motto is “Service above self”. The Wakefield Rotary Club meets each Tuesday at noon at Harrington’s Restaurant on Water Street. For more information on the club’s initiatives or to join the Wakefield Rotary Club, visit www.wakefieldrotaryclub.org or contact us at wakefieldrotaryclub@yahoo.com.