A town-hall style event to discuss mental health, and suicide awareness and prevention will be held for the Washington-area community next week.

Project SAFE of the Cedar River Corridor Area is sponsoring this free community conversation event Monday, April 4th at the Kirkwood Regional Center in Washington. The public can visit with area organizations and resources about mental health from 4:30-6 p.m., and then from 6-8 p.m. Project SAFE Founder and President Mike Farr will be leading a panel discussion including local mental health experts, representatives from the LGBTQ+ community, and others who will give their perspective and answer questions about suicide awareness and prevention. Farr started the foundation after his son Garrett lost his battle with depression in 2017, and he strives to remove the stigma around depression and communicate that it can affect anyone, “I hope that students, I hope that parents, I hope that grandparents, I hope that different agencies in the area all attend. The idea is to inform people, inform the public of what services are available and to answer the questions or misconceptions out there about depression and mental health.”

For the first time Project SAFE will be giving away one $1,000 and two $500 scholarships away to any ninth-12th grade student who attends the event. The scholarships will be made out to the student’s school to be awarded upon graduation. Refreshments will also be provided by Engineered Building Design of Washington. For more information visit this Project SAFE’s website.