Created by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing in partnership with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, the program adapts existing adult models of mental health first aid into a peer-to-peer format for teenagers. Katie Faldetta was eager to bring the program to Cape May County.
“Our vision was, if we could train youth, who know better than anyone else what their peers are dealing with, to be able to recognize when one of their friends or classmates was struggling, and to connect them with that trusted adult, it could really make an impact in our community,” Joe Faldetta said.
The free program is embedded in the sophomore core curriculum of Cape May County high schools. Lower Cape May Regional High School and Cape May County Technical High School were the first to adopt the training. Since then, Wildwood High School, Middle Township High School and Wildwood Catholic have joined, broadening the program’s reach. Ocean City High School declined to participate. The long-term goal is ambitious: to train 75% of the county’s high school students.
