APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton West High School is partnering with Prevent Suicide Fox Cities and Catalpa Health to host a virtual speaker series for area residents, addressing mental health amid the pandemic.
Prevent Suicide Fox Cities Board Chair Cindy Reffke says the idea came from the school, as students just returned to in-person classes last week, after being virtual learners since the spring.
“It’s really because Appleton West High School and the Appleton [Area] School District were out of school until January 19th, and we really felt that the students needed some support around mental health and mental health awareness,” Reffke told WTAQ News. “We’re all in this together and we’re stronger together.”
New mental health and wellness topics and tips will be available every two weeks, beginning at 8:00 a.m. on the Monday of each new speaker presentation. The free, ten-week community series will be presented in an all-virtual, easy to access format that’s designed to help area students, families, and the community-at-large to positively cope with everyday stresses, as well as the challenges of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s about 20 minutes long. People can click on a link, go right to that topic and hear the presentation. Then there’s a little short survey after the presentation that people can fill out just to give us a feeling for – did like it [or] what else they would like to see perhaps,” Reffke said.
Virtual attendees are invited to log on here to view the presentations, which will be offered through the end of May 2021. Each session will highlight positive mental health and wellness strategies to cheerfully lift the mind, body, and spirit.
Reffke says it’s important for information like this to be available to students and the community as a whole, especially right now.
“People have felt so disconnected. They are grieving their old life. It is hard for everyone…This has almost gone on for a whole year, and we’ve really been isolated from each other. I really feel [that] this is our way of reaching out and letting people know that we haven’t forgotten about anyone, that we are all here together,” Reffke said. “I think having the speaker series and having something to look forward to is really important for mental health, and then having the message be [that] we’re here for you, and we know that it’s difficult.”
Speakers and topics for the first five weeks of the series include:
· January 25th – “Kids, Covid-19 and Building Resilience” by Amy Gunderson, MS, CSW, LPC
· February 8th – “Resources available in the Fox Cities – Food, Housing & Utilities” by Christie De Champs, MSW, APSW
· February 22nd – “ Acknowledge, Care, Tell – How to help a friend in crisis.” by Cindy Czarnik-Neimeyer, M.S., PS, Catalpa Health/Appleton Schools ATODA & Mental Health Liaison
· March 8th – “What does self-care really mean?” by Jeanette Potts, Master of Science degree in Leadership from Marian University and an “accredited Certification in Thanatology” by the Association of Death Education and Counseling
· March 22nd – “How to enjoy a Wisconsin winter outside” by Chelsey Lewis, a travel and outdoors reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Each presentation will be available after the live event, so don’t worry if you missed the start time. Additional presentations will be announced on the Appleton West High School – YouTube page as they become available.
Comments