Engaging Families with Mental Health Resources
Families move from table to table at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm on Thursday evening. Children and adults alike enjoyed spinning wheels to win prizes, collecting toys and stickers, and answering questions to help children learn to be comfortable addressing their feelings. All this was happening while music from Thursday night live filled the space, bubbles floated through the breeze, and BMX bikes twisted and flipped high overhead.
The 6th Annual Youth Mental Health Night, sponsored by Fairview Range, Family Services Collaboration of St. Louis County and the Minnesota Discovery Center, featured more than 25 community and government service organizations that focus their efforts on improving mental health and turned mental health into a fun, family event with music, games, arts and crafts, and a high-flying BMX stunt show.
Cassie Liubakka, Director of Family Services Collaborative of St. Louis County, one of the co-sponsors of Family Mental Health Night, explained that the idea came about six years ago because Mental Health still has a stigma for many people, causing a reluctance for people to seek help in the early stages of a crisis or not having the knowledge of what services might be available in the area.
In talks with Fairview Range, the organizers recognized a major problem preventing many from seeking mental health care. If you’re experiencing a crisis and don’t know where to turn, you may not be able to access the necessary services. This is why the groups came up with the idea of inviting the region’s clinics, providers, and service-based organizations that provide care in the region into one place, and creating a family-friendly and exciting atmosphere where people can meet providers in a fun setting. And where children can learn to be comfortable with talking about their feelings through earning prizes by answering questions such as “If I feel sad, what’s something I can do?”
Mental Health Night drew a huge crowd Thursday night and has quickly climbed into a highlight event of the summer for families with young children, with plans for next year’s event already underway.
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