RESTATE

Reduction and Elimination of Stigma Through Art Targeted Education (RESTATE)

RESTATE is a stigma and discrimination reduction program designed to educate local high school students about mental health issues through a specially designed curriculum that uses the media arts as a vehicle to promote awareness and understanding of mental health. Through collaboration with high school districts in Tulare and Kings Counties, RESTATE will provide funding for film equipment/software and the development of the specific curriculum to be implemented in art education/media classes.

The RESTATE module will provide an overview of mental health, including history, career opportunities, the role of County mental health services, local needs and available resources, and common barriers to treatment specific to the Tulare-Kings communities. Students will pick an approved community mental health topic and film public service announcements that will then be used as part of the RESTATE media campaign to promote community awareness.

The curricula identified for this program is Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which is a groundbreaking public education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Mental Health First Aid USA is managed, operated, and disseminated by three national authorities: the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

To read more about Mental Health First Aid, please visit: http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org 

The Goals of RESTATE are to:

• Coordinate stigma-reduction efforts among government agencies, community-based organizations, and schools
• Prevent the development of mental health stigma, stereotyping, and discrimination through a public mental health awareness campaign
• Educate the public about community resources available to assist with mental health-related crises
• Promote initiatives, programs, and curricula to change school cultures and increase social inclusion and social acceptance
• Deliver mental health education in natural community settings through the creation and implementation of a mental health curriculum (MHFA)
• Empower youth to educate their community about mental health issues

 

The responsibility of participating schools is administering and overseeing the RESTATE school-based curriculum activities of this project, which include:

• Establishment and integration of a mental health curriculum
• An introduction to visual arts and media, which includes equipment and software skills training to support the creation of public service announcements
• Administering metrics to document the effectiveness of the curriculum

 

The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency and Kings County Behavioral Health will be the lead agencies promoting the RESTATE media campaign through the following activities:

• Community education to reduce stigma and inform of available mental health resources
• Collaboration with local media outlets (print, radio, internet, television) to promote activities and air student-created public service announcements
• Dissemination of data collected from participants of the RESTATE program

 

The following school sites have participated in this program:

1. La Sierra Military Academy
2. University Preparatory High
3. Golden West High School
4. Eleanor Roosevelt Center
5. Harmony Magnate Academy
6. Tulare Community Day School
7. Woodlake High School
8. Farmersville High School
9. Santa Rosa Rancheria
10. Corcoran Joint Unified
11. Avenal High School
12. Hanford West High School
13. Lemoore High School