Alabaster holding town hall on mental health issues
Published 3:07 pm Tuesday, October 10, 2017
By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor
ALABASTER – The city of Alabaster will look to continue its efforts to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention when it holds a town hall meeting to discuss the issues in late October.
The town hall meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. in the council chamber of Alabaster City Hall at 1953 Municipal Way.
The town hall event will feature several presentations from mental health experts, including Alabaster City Schools Student Services Coordinator Dorann Tanner.
After the presentations, those in attendance will be able to have an open discussion and ask questions to help in identifying warning signs for depression and other mental illnesses. The mental health experts also will provide information about local mental health resources available to the public. Assisting in the discussion, will be Compact 2020, the Crisis Center, NAMI Shelby County, SafeHouse and Bradford Health Services.
“We, as a city, recognize mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being; and all Americans, at one time or another, experience times of difficulty and stress in their lives,” said Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon. “Like all communities, the city of Alabaster has been tragically impacted by depression and other mental health illnesses. We want to be proactive, encourage our citizens, and educate the community on the resources and support available. We want our citizens to know they are not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”