Students, parents, school staff, and others gathered Monday night to learn about mental health resources available and suicide prevention at the Washington County Kirkwood Regional Learning Center.

A town hall event was hosted by Project SAFE of the Cedar River Corridor Area, which included a time for attendees to meet with area counseling services and a panel discussion with Project SAFE board members, counselors and others in which they discussed how to handle conversations about suicide, spotting warning signs, and programs that can be implemented in high schools such as the Bandana Project. Project SAFE board member and Kirkwood professor Ryan Siskow commented on how the pandemic has impacted those who take a role in mental health and working with youth, “In the areas where we need people the most, in education and in health care, people are leaving. And I think we have to be prepared to be doing what we’re doing now, in these community conversations we recognized I think early on Mike, right? Our first one was at Cedar Rapids – Prairie and to your point not knowing about all these different resources out here. But we have to be a quilter who can bring those things together, because honestly, and I don’t want to be a pessimist but I think it’s going to get worse.”

Siskow went on later to say that sometimes it may take meeting with several different counseling services and others to find solutions to mental health issues. Project SAFE Founder and panel moderator Mike Farr emphasized that while they may not have all the answers, having public conversations about these topics can open that door to those seeking help. Patti Gilbaugh from Grace C Mae Advocate Center which provides therapy to Washington students mentioned that plans are underway for a teen mental health summit that will be happening August 20th in Washington. During the panel three names were randomly drawn from the high school students who attended to receive two $500 and one $1,000 scholarship to be awarded upon their graduation.