September is National Recovery Month and Mental Health First Aid can be the first step on the road to recovery. You can literally #BeTheDifference in someone’s life by knowing how to understand, recognize and respond to someone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.

Recovery is a personal journey of hope, empowerment and autonomy. Although everyone’s recovery journey is unique, recovery is now the expected outcome of treatment and services for mental health and substance use disorders.

You can help a family member, friend or colleague take the first step on their recovery journey. Here are some things you can do:

1. Get trained. If you’re already trained in Mental Health First Aid – awesome! If not, look for a course in your area and equip yourself with the tools necessary to recognize and respond to a person facing a mental health or substance use challenge.
2. Share your stories. Recovery stories are powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirt. Do you have a recovery story to share? Send us a message on Facebook with your story.
3. Hold hope. Wherever you go and whatever you do, believe that even people with the most serious mental and substance use disorders can and do recover. When you are trained in Mental Health First Aid, you can #BetheDifference by helping people translate hope into action.

Help us make a difference in communities across the country today and #BeTheDifference in yours.