(Okoboji)– A special event February 13th will focus on behavioral and mental health challenges for school-aged children. It starts at 6:30 that evening at the Pearson Lakes Art Center and is being put on by the Dickinson County Behavioral Health Coalition and the Iowa Great Lakes Rotary Club. Katy Carey of Dickinson County Public Health tells KUOO news the session will include a panel discussion with a number of specialists…
“Many of the school counselors have talked about hearing those frequently asked questions asked about how do we connect to resources, and that’s something we hear quite often, so we have a panel of five experts locally. So we’ll have Beth Will from Community Services and Metal Health region; Michelle Gore representing Flowstate which is covering Emergency Room processes; Darci Graves from Plains Area Mental Health; Marta Sandoval from the AEA; and Lynn Park from the University of Iowa child Health Specialty Clinic. So this really is an opportunity to ask those burning questions of how do I navigate some of these things that I have questions about? Setting my kid up for success, and getting them the help they need.”
There’s no charge to attend, but Carey says those planning to attend should sign up ahead of time…
“This is a free event and it includes a Burger and Company meal, so we’ll have burger and hotdog meals starting at 6:00 pm at the Pearson Lakes Arts Center, and then in the same area we’ll start that panel at 6:30. So that will help us really prepare for making sure we have enough food for everybody and then for anyone with kids that are coming we also will provide free childcare for elementary age and under, so parents can bring their family but also focus on the event.”
The Dickinson County Behavioral Health Coalition consists of local providers, school counselors, program directors, public health officials, government resources and volunteers committed to the healthy mental well-being of Dickinson county residents. Also known as “Let’s Talk Dickinson”, Carey says the coalition has put on other programs as well…
“We’re in our first year but we have had several outreach opportunities. We’ve worked with farmers with a harvest outreach and had a Move For Mental Health Walk in the summertime, so we’re just moving forward with different kinds of programming to again connect people with the resources that they’re looking for.”
Anyone interested in attending the February 13th event should RSVP by February 2nd. You can do that online at LetsTalkDickinson.org.
