When Essentia Health conducted its Community Health Needs Assessment this spring, one area identified was our mental well-being.
When people were asked to rate the number of days they had experienced “good” mental health, it was noted that people experienced fewer days of “good” mental health during the month compared to the survey conducted in 2018.
When comparing the data to 2014, it’s worth noting that we actually improved on this trend, which could be attributed to: stigma reduction campaigns like Make It OK; people and organizations recognizing the importance of connectivity; and workplaces, faith communities and schools are more willing to talk about mental health.
One of our strategies that we identified to help improve our overall mental well-being was to encourage help-seeking behaviors through stigma reduction campaigns (Make It OK and ACE education) to reduce stigma and raise awareness of existing community resources.
A second strategy identified is to build resilience, optimism and hope through tools and programs. Our Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Resilience Coalition conducted 104 one-on-one interviews with community members last winter. The 100 Community Conversation is part of the More Resilient Minnesota initiative.
One of the objectives of this project was to reach the people closest to the problem and furthest from the decision-making. The information we gathered during this initiative was very relevant; we will share the results at the Community Mental Health Resource Fair. The next phase of the project is to engage our community to develop a community resilience plan.
Crow Wing Energized is hosting a Community Mental Health Resource Fair from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 29 at First Lutheran Church in Brainerd. We plan to share information about the 100 Community Conversations project and the new 988# at this event. Attendees will be able to attend sessions to learn about stigma reduction campaigns such as Make It OK and Change the Narrative.
Sessions on suicide prevention will be offered, including postvention, QPR (question, persuasion, and referral), and lethal means and SAVE led by the Veterans Administration. Participants can learn more about Resourceful, Naloxone and ACE training.
Finally, we will begin to recruit a local community resilience planning team who can complete the community resilience plan. This plan should reflect the priorities of collaboration representatives, partners and community members, including those who provided feedback during our one-on-one interviews using the 100 Community Conversations interview tool. We will have mental health resources available to participants.
This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the mental health resources that are available in our area. We encourage participants to consider training to facilitate these classes or to share this information in their workplaces and faith communities. CWE can help coordinate training and help cover the cost of training. This one-day event is free – a light lunch will be served. Registration is mandatory; to register: Community Mental Health Resource Fair – Crow Wing Energized
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