By: Ryan Duey
photo courtesy of Canva
Central Kansas Mental Health Center (CKMHC), covering Dickinson, Ottawa, Lincoln, and Ellsworth Counties, is partnering with the Ottawa County Health Department to host ‘Roots of Resilience: A Rural Mental Health Gathering’ at the Minneapolis Public Library on Saturday, June 7th from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
CKMHC provides behavioral health services, education, and care to area communities, striving to positively impact the region. Gretchen Boyum, Grants and Communications Specialist, spoke of the importance of these rural outreach programs.
“Mental health rankings have found over and over again that rural counties and rural communities tend to have higher rates of mental health conditions and less access to mental health professionals.”
“Access to care can be really difficult, particularly if people have to travel somewhere. Sometimes it’s hard for people to even know what resources are available to them in their communities, or who to even call if they needed to call someone for help.”
Clay Center High School Senior and YLink member Isabelle Blackwood will speak on her role in suicide prevention, followed by K-State Extension Farm Stress Specialist Rebecca McFarland, who will be offering strategies for recognizing and managing stress. Boyum said they will also offer resources to attendees.
“We want to help people with some skills and some actionable steps, but then also have that time to kind of just come together and simply have a conversation.”
“We will have community resources there as well. So, people can come, ask questions, and we can let them know what resources are available to them.”
All are welcome to attend, and an RSVP is encouraged. For more information or to RSVP, contact Boyum at the Mental Health Department. To learn more about CKMHC and how they support the area communities, visit ckmhc.org.
